New tech puts virtual sense of touch at our fingertips

From News.Yahoo.com (Nov. 20):

Paris (AFP) - Garrett Anderson has never known the pleasure of holding hands with both his children at the same time.

While deployed in Iraq with the US army in 2005, a bomb blast shot shrapnel through his right arm, severing it just below the elbow.

Today, the Illinois-based retired veteran wears a prosthetic which allows him to pick up objects and have basic mobility.

But it cannot duplicate the sense of touch.

A new second-skin "virtual reality" technology -- designed to work with both prosthetics and gaming applications -- may change that.

The system, developed by researchers at Northwestern University and described in the journal Nature, incorporates 32 individually programmable actuators -- a device that emits electric impulses or vibrations -- which are embedded into a pliable material made from silicone that adheres to the skin.

Controlled by a wireless touchscreen such as a smartphone or tablet, each actuator -- the size of a small coin -- vibrates to create the perception of touch. The user can control the pressure and the pattern of the sensation.

Anderson tried the system, integrated with his prosthetic. While wearing a patch on his skin, he could feel sensations from his prosthetic fingertips transmitted to his arm.

Over time, the brain converts that sensation to what researcher John Rogers describes as a "surrogate sense of feeling". [read more]