A new device from UK scientists revolutionizes touch sensation
British scientists have developed a device to take over the task of shaking hands with another person. This way, we can avoid the initial contact, which can be awkward for some people. However, the goal of this invention is not to replace people but to help them.
Scientists from the United Kingdom claim that their device can successfully replicate human touch. The prototype, worn on a finger, transmits impulses that stimulate the nerves responsible for the sense of touch.
The feeling of touch occurs in the person wearing the device on their finger. Through this device, they have the sensation of touching a person, although they are not doing so. In the future, this could help people who have lost sensation in their hands.
This is not the first such idea. The EU's Horizon 2020 program allowed for the realization of the TouchlessAI project. Its main component is a special console that produces haptic (touch) sensations - which helps replicate contact with objects and people.
Will devices take over our sense of touch? In some areas, certainly
Thanks to such solutions, special platforms could enable the checking of a specific texture or material of clothing or other items. Artificially generated touch stimuli will certainly also find use in the virtual reality world and could be an excellent addition to the experiences currently provided by VR technology.
