开发出能够传达触感的薄片设备

A research team at Northwestern University has unveiled a sheet-like device that attaches to the skin and delivers a tactile feel. It is said that this device can give a sense of immersion that has never been experienced in virtual reality or augmented reality.

The device is shaped like a sheet of thin layers. The layer in contact with the skin is made of a rubber-like polymer layer with elasticity and is also suitable for curved surfaces of human skin. After the skin contact layer, there is a silicon layer that fixes the electrons and the electronic devices, and then a breathable fabric layer. The fabric layer covers the electrons and protects the electronic device from impact.

In fact, the tactile layer is a polyimide containing a trace amount of copper, and a thin and elastic actuator is disposed. This actuator vibrates by radio signals and transmits the sense of touch. To drive the actuator, NFC, a short-range wireless communication technology used for contactless IC cards, is used, and wireless power supply is possible. However, the battery is not built into the device itself.

The research team has already built a prototype of a 150×150mm sheet-like device. It is said that as a result of connecting the touch screen interface to the sheet-like device and sending a shape pattern of X by pointing the touch screen back, it was confirmed that the X-shaped stimulus was transmitted to the finger that mimics the touch screen.

The research team is devising a virtual reality game that conveys touch or adds touch when a person on a video call touches the screen. The research team is working on making the sheet-like device thinner and lighter, and it is expected to be studied in the future to transmit things like heat other than the sense of touch. Related information can be found here .