Tactile virtual reality and telepresence thanks to a smart textile fabric

A loving touch on an arm, a hand placed protectively on a shoulder, an affectionate hug… Human touch can bring calm, comfort and a feeling of security and being protected. When the nerve cells in our skin are stimulated by touch, numerous parts of our brain are activated, causing immediate changes in our body's biochemistry. Hormones and signaling substances are released, including oxytocin, which creates a feeling of well-being and attachment. On the other hand, video calls tend to leave us quite cold. We miss the closeness and emotional connection that in-person meetings produce.

More dramatic are the cases in which one of the physically separated people is a minor and the circumstances that motivate the separation are of a medical nature, such as having a very weakened immune system and being forced to remain within a isolated room (a “bubble”).

A possible way to achieve remotely what those family gatherings offer in person and with physical contact comes from the hand of technology.

Smart textile fabrics make virtual reality (virtual immersion in a fictional environment) and telepresence (virtual immersion in a real but distant environment) more immersive and allow the sensation of physical touch to be experienced. An ultra-thin film that can transmit tactile sensations is capable of virtually turning a special textile fabric into a second skin.

For children who must remain inside bubbles without physical contact with anyone due to the weakness of their immune system, this new technology offers them the possibility of feeling physical contact with their parents and re-experiencing the sensation of being held in their arms, hugged and pampered.

This technology is the work of a team including Stefan Seelecke, Paul Motzki, Sipontina Croce and Lukas Roth, all four from Saarland University in Germany.

Sipontina Croce (left) and Lukas Roth, from the research and development team. (Photo: Oliver Dietze)

The technology is based on silicone films about 50 micrometers thick that can be worn like a second skin. Just as our skin is the interface of our body with the outside world, these ultrathin films are the interface or interface of the body with the virtual world. The goal is to create a realistic tactile sensation from interactions between people in a virtual environment.

When incorporated into textile fabrics, these high-tech films allow the child to experience touch when the mother or father caresses a second smart textile fabric of the same type from another location. The films, known as dielectric elastomers, act as sensors (they detect tactile input from mom or dad) and as actuators (they transmit those movements to the child).

When functioning as a sensor, the film is able to recognize with great precision how a hand or finger presses or stretches the film by touching it. This physical deformation caused by one person's hand is then accurately reproduced in a second fabric that is in contact with the other person's skin, giving the other person the realistic impression of their arm being caressed, for example. (Fountain: NCYT by Amazings)