VR continues to hover just at the brink of being the next big thing in tech. Although it has a number of applications in art, education, and gaming already, it has yet to become as ubiquitous as personal computing or smart phones. Thanks to a breakthrough from scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, that could be about to change.
A report from TomsGuide.com explains:
Published in the journal Soft Robotics, the research describes a soft skin that is less than 500 nanometers in thickness. The skin is equipped with pneumatic actuators that will actually make you feel are touching something real, rather than just the simulation of an electronic haptic engine, which doesn’t really feel like the real thing at all. The artificial skin also has integrated sensors that sends data used to modulate the pressure. The scientist claim this is the first time this has been accomplished.
This video from the scientists shows this virtual skin in action:
VR environments that allow users to interact using tactile sensations could open doors especially in the space of virtual intimacy, both as a connection tool for two human users separated by distance, as well as humans interacting with artificial intelligence.