Almost all parents are familiar with this situation: In the evening, the offspring simply do not want to fall asleep by themselves. Only when mom or daddy cradle the child in their arms and stroke them to sleep, it comes to rest. In the long run, this can be quite exhausting.
For such cases it would be convenient for one or the other to outsource the baby-caring job. That this could eventually be possible suggests a new development, which researchers have now presented in the journal "Nature".
Scientists led by John Rogers of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA, have developed a sensitive skin that will allow the wearer to feel touch and pressure realistically. This is made possible by small vibrating electronic elements, which are integrated into the artificial skin.
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In addition to seeing and hearing, the sense of touch can become another element of virtual reality, the scientists write. Although there are already devices that could produce sensations of touch. However, these often worked with light electric shocks or are unwieldy because of batteries and many cables.
The artificial skin developed by the team around Rogers does not need a battery, but is powered from the outside by radio waves with energy. Wavy lines, large-area antennas under the surface of the skin serve to receive these radio waves. Built-in electronics, which is embedded in the elastic plastic and enveloped by an air-permeable fabric controls in the standard version of the device 32 vibrating components, called actuators. They consist of a flat coil and a plastic ring that encloses a magnet. When current flows through the coil, the magnet starts to vibrate.
Touch sensations can be generated with the help of a touchscreen, explain the scientists. How to do it, they show in a video: In it, a woman strokes a screen. A child talking to a woman via the Internet from another location can feel the touch thanks to the artificial skin stuck to the back. The device enables the simulation of touches of different strengths.
VR video call with patch b roll
The technology has many applications. It is conceivable to use in action computer games. Artificial skin elements on several parts of the body, such as hand, elbow, arm, chest or back, let a player experience a fight close up. And the scientists also have medical applications in view. Thus, the device can give the wearer of an arm and hand prosthesis a feeling for the object in his artificial fingers. For this, the artificial skin is attached to the upper arm. It then gives the person different touch patterns for pen, cellphone or mug.
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Commenting on the study, Xiao-ming Tao of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, China, points out that the device is at a disadvantage: "Although an optimized actuator requires only 1.75 milliwatts of power, the total power consumption of the technology is still low crucial limiting factor for the sustainable and wireless operation of the platform in practical use ". The group around Rogers indicates in its study that a further reduction of the vibration elements would reduce the energy requirement considerably.
At least until then mom and dad have to stroke real. And maybe that's just fine.
