Artificial Skin and Augmented Reality

Links between skin and augmented reality of interest

Artificial Skin Could Help Rehabilitation, Enhance Virtual Reality
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Laure-Anne Pessina

Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have developed a soft, flexible artificial skin, made of silicone and electrodes and equipped with soft sensors and actuators, which provides haptic feedback in the form of pressure and vibration. Strain sensors continuously measure the skin's deformation so that the haptic feedback can be adjusted to produce a realistic sense of touch. The actuators help form a membrane layer and can be tuned to varying pressures and frequencies. On top of the membrane layer sits a sensor that contains soft electrodes that measure the skin's deformation continuously and send the data to a microcontroller, which uses the feedback to fine-tune the sensation transmitted to the user. For now, the scientists have tested the technology on users' fingers. The next step, said EPFL's Harshal Sonar, "will be to develop a fully wearable prototype for applications in rehabilitation and virtual and augmented reality."