Virtual reality has come a long way in recent years, creating unreal environments and unprecedented tactile experiences. However, researchers have struggled to create a full simulation of our most precious tactile senses, such as kissing.
Until now.
Carnegie Mellon University’s Future Interfaces team has adapted a standard Virtual Reality headset to recreate the tactile sensations of the wearer’s face – specifically, a kiss on the mouth – without adding actual parts that cover that area, according to a video released last Wednesday by the group. They achieved this using ultrasonic transducers.
Making the most of ultrasonic transducers
“In this research, we constructed a thin, compact, beamforming array of ultrasonic transducers, which might be incorporated into future headsets in a practical & consumer-pleasant manner,” wrote the researchers on their website, about the manner they made the magic happen.
“We use this hardware to focus air-borne acoustic energy onto the lips and into the mouth, developing sensations such-as taps & non-stop vibrations, which we also can animate alongside arbitrary 3D paths,” the researchers continued. “In addition to the lips, our results may be felt at the tooth and tongue. When coupled with coordinated graphical feedback, the results are convincing, boosting realism & immersion.”
Although the most apparent utility of any such device is kissing, the organization notes that they constructed a number of sensory demos, “which include raindrops, mud splatter, pushing thrrough cobwebs, & crawling bugs.” Basically, it appears that they’ve created simulations for almost any sensation you could experience for your face.
A first-of-its-kind application
This is not anything quick of impressive, and the institution notes that it`s a first-of-its-type application. “While in-air haptics the use of ultrasonic phased arrays isn’t new, we’re first to integrate technology into a headset to be used at the mouth and discover the wealth application space,” the researchers brought at the website release.
The improvement is exciting, however it can be similarly engineered to provide full-body digital truth sensations. That’s an notable proposition, we know. Not to say how bulky frame-spanning Virtual Reality gadgets would possibly want to be, with trendy generation. Nevertheless, ignoring VR experience technology would be a terrible mistake. This is because, in the coming decades, vast segments of the population will likely “connect” to VR devices from simply needing to experience something life would otherwise be experienced. . From a single trip to the Moon and Mars, to the endless complexity of our long & long history. The possibilities are truly endless.
