Skin-Integrated Haptic System Brings Wire- and Battery-Free Touch Feedback to Virtual Reality
3mm-thick "bandage" draws its power wirelessly, allowing the user to move freely — within a meter of the transmitter, at least.
Researchers at Northwestern University, City University of Hong Kong, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Pennsylvania State University, University of Arizona, University of Bristol, Tsinghua University, and Shandong University have announced a skin-integrated haptic feedback system designed to give virtual reality users the experience of touching virtual or remote objects — using nothing more than a thin, soft, bandage-like device.
The team's work is designed to get around the awkwardness of existing haptic feedback systems, which rely on "bulky wires and battery packs." The result is a 3mm-thick "bandage" made of a silicone-coated elastomeric fabric embedded with vibration actuators which activate according to signals from a nearby computer — but without the need for wires.
"The haptic actuators can harvest radio frequency power through the large flexible antenna within a certain distance, so the user wearing the device can move freely without the trouble of wires," explains co-first author Dr. Yu Xinge — "freely" here being within a meter of the transmission system, fully ten times the distance offered by rival technologies. That's not the only improvement on offer: The system also draws under 2mW to create a "notable sensory vibration," where previous designs have taken around 100mW for the same effect.
"Thus, we solved the difficult problem of transmission by low-power wireless function and significantly increased the distance of the operation for our system," Dr. Yu continues. "This system not only saves power but also allows users to move more freely without the trouble of wires."
While the team's work discusses how the system can enhance sensory experience in virtual reality, it has potential for a range of other implementations — including feedback in prosthetic limbs, clinical applications, surgical training, and even "social media interactions."
The full paper, published in the journal Nature, is available in PDF form from Dr. Yu's publications page.