Develop a virtual touch skin

2019/11/20 Agirre Ruiz de Arkaute, Aitziber - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza
• Teknologia

According to an article published in the journal Nature, they have managed to develop a touch sensitive interface. The device communicates information through mechanical vibrations, so it can be used as a kind of synthetic skin.The new interface can be used, among other things, in hand prostheses to provide sensory information of the object on which the prosthesis is supported. But they have also envisaged more disparate uses, for example, to feel blows in video games or to send virtual caresses through social networks.

Compared to vision and hearing, touch sensory interfaces have so far hardly been developed. Previously it has tried to form the skin for virtual reality, but the results were scarce: the electrodes produced vibrations but they found it very difficult to get combinations of tensions and proper currents, which caused pain and injuries in the skin. This surface, however, has its vibratory components integrated in a soft and flexible material, obtaining a “pleasant communication” according to its authors. It has also been said that it is wireless and programmable, which adapts perfectly to the curved surfaces of the skin.