Now feel virtual objects
Using a phenomenon called “reverse electrovibration” researchers have added textures to surfaces that don’t really exist
Agencies
Posted On Wednesday, August 08, 2012 at 09:08:47 AM
Tech developed by Disney Research, Pittsburgh, makes it possible to change the feel of real-world surfaces and objects, including touch-screens, walls, furniture, wooden or plastic objects, without requiring users to wear special gloves or use force-feedback devices.
Left: A new tactile tech modifies the user’s tactile perception, it provides a layer of texture on a teapot. Right: The device is small enough to be fixed in the sole of a shoe Surfaces are not altered with actuators and require little if any instrumentation. Instead, Disney researchers employ a newly discovered physical phenomenon called reverse electrovibration to create the illusion of changing textures as the user's fingers sweep across a surface. Aweak electrical signal, which can be applied imperceptibly anywhere on the user’s body, creates an electrical field around the user’s fingers that is responsible for the tactile feedback. The technology, called REVEL, could be used to create “please touch” museum displays, add haptic feedback to games, apply texture to projected images on surfaces of any size and shape, provide customised directions on walls for people with visual disabilities and enhance other applications of augmented reality (AR). “Augmented reality to date has focused primarily on visual and auditory feedback, but less on the sense of touch,” said Olivier Bau, a postdoc at Disney Research. “Sight and sound are important, but we believe the addition of touch can create a really unique and magical experience.” The research Bau and Ivan Poupyrev, a scientist at Disney Research, will be presented at the SIGGRAPH 2012. The electrovibration effect was first reported in 1953. It’s a sensation that people sometimes feel when they slide a finger across a smooth metal surface of an ungrounded electrical appliance. With the dry, outer layer of skin serving as an insulator, a small alternating current applied to the conductive metal surface can generate an attractive force between the surface and asmall electrical charge induced in the fluids of the finger's deeper tissues as the finger moves across the surface.  No current actually passes through the skin and the amount of induced charge is negligible, but it results in a perception that the surface is rubbery. Bau and Poupyrev discovered that the same sensation could be created by applying the small alternating current anywhere on the user’s body instead of the surface – reverse electrovibration. By tracking the finger’s position using an external sensor, the researchers can manipulate the electrovibration to make the user feel bumps, edges or changes in texture corresponding to particular locations on the surface. “The amount of current used is extremely low,” Poupyrev said. “The static electric spark we feel when touching a doorknob, is a higher current and, even so, presents no safety concerns.” The surfaces themselves require no extensive modification, though they need to be coated with an insulatorcovered electrode, or “REVEL skin.” The surfaces themselves require no extensive modification, though they need to be coated with an insulatorcovered electrode, or “REVEL skin.” Anodized aluminum objects or capacitive touch-screens can be used without any modification, while a REVEL skin can be manufactured on walls or other surfaces using off-the-shelf materials. One simple method is to coat a surface with a conductive paint and add a coat of conventional household paint as an insulating layer. The surfaces must also share a common electrical ground with the REVEL signal generator. ========================================================================= first step to virtual sex -Virtual Lips for Long-Distance LoversTHE GIST
 The Kissenger is shaped like a small head with oversized silicone lips. Click to enlarge this image. Youtube screen grab Finding it hard to keep up the passion in a long-distance relationship? Help might be on the way. A robotics professor in Singapore has invented a gadget equipped with motion-sensitive electronic "lips" that allow amorous but absent couples to exchange long-distance smooches via the Internet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Predictions made by Ray KurzweilAccording to Ray Kurzweil, 89 out of 108 predictions he made were entirely correct by the end of 2009. An additional 13 were what he calls “essentially correct" (meaning that they were likely to be released within a few years of 2009), for a total of 102 out of 108. Another 3 are partially correct, 2 look like they are about 10 years off, and 1, which was tongue in cheek anyway, was just wrong.2019
Shaped like a small head with oversize silicone lips, the "Kissenger" -- short for Kiss Messenger -- was unveiled in June at a scientific conference in Britain and is still being refined for commercial launch. "It can be used between humans to improve their communication," its creator Hooman Samani told AFP. Couples just have to connect the devices to computers via USB cables, link up online and start kissing the silicone material to trigger sensors that move the gadget on the other side. They can stare at each other on screen while exchanging kisses. "The main issue is to transmit the force and pressure, and also the shape of the lip," Samani said. The "special silicone material" chosen for the lips offers "the best sensation and feeling," said the scientist, who has personally tested the device. But the Kissenger is not yet ready for the market despite "a lot of offers" from interested parties because there are "ethical issues" that need to be resolved on top of the technical aspects, he said. BLOG: Robot Prostitutes, the Future of Sex Tourism "Kissing is very intimate so in order to have a product in market which is going to deal with this sensitive issue we have to do proper studies and investigation on the social point of view, cultural point of view," he said. The device is still being refined at a laboratory jointly set up by the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Keio University of Japan. Samani calls his field of study "lovotics" -- research into the relationship between robots and humans -- and the Kissenger is just one of several devices being developed by his team. ========================================================================= Kissenger: virtual lips for long-distance lovers Lips. File picture. Image by: Time LIVE Finding it hard to keep up the passion in a long-distance relationship? Help might be on the way.A robotics professor in Singapore has invented a gadget equipped with motion-sensitive electronic “lips” that allow amorous but absent couples to exchange long-distance smooches via the Internet.Shaped like a small head with oversize silicone lips, the “Kissenger” — short for Kiss Messenger — was unveiled in June at a scientific conference in Britain and is still being refined for commercial launch.“It can be used between humans to improve their communication,” its creator Hooman Samani told AFP. Couples just have to connect the devices to computers via USB cables, link up online and start kissing the silicone material to trigger sensors that move the gadget on the other side. They can stare at each other on screen while exchanging kisses. “The main issue is to transmit the force and pressure, and also the shape of the lip,” Samani said. The “special silicone material” chosen for the lips offers “the best sensation and feeling”, said the scientist, who has personally tested the device. But the Kissenger is not yet ready for the market despite “a lot of offers” from interested parties because there are “ethical issues” that need to be resolved on top of the technical aspects, he said. “Kissing is very intimate so in order to have a product in market which is going to deal with this sensitive issue we have to do proper studies and investigation on the social point of view, cultural point of view,” he said. The device is still being refined at a laboratory jointly set up by the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Keio University of Japan. Samani calls his field of study “lovotics” — research into the relationship between robots and humans — and the Kissenger is just one of several devices being developed by his team. |
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