Tactile Feedback in VR, No Cumbersome Gloves Or Motors Required

This clever research from the University of Chicago’s Human Computer Integration Lab demonstrates a fascinating way to let users “feel” objects in VR, without anything getting in the way of using one’s hands and fingers normally. Certainly, the picture here shows hands with a device attached to them, but look closely and you’ll see that it’s on the back of the hand only.

There’s hardware attached to the hands, yes, but only to the backs. Hands and fingers can be used entirely normally while receiving tactile feedback.

The unique device consists of a control box, wires, and some electrodes attached to different spots on the back of the hand and fingers. Carefully modulated electrical signals create tactile sensations on the front, despite originating from electrodes on the back. While this has clear applications for VR, the team thinks the concept could also have applications in rehabilitation, or prosthetics.

The way it works is pretty clever. Electrical signals traverse the tissues of the hand, passing through nerves in both the front and back. But the front (palmar) side of the hand has roughly 60 times more receptors than the back, which makes the front of the hand far more sensitive. Even though the same electrical stimulus is hitting both sets of nerves, the sensation is overwhelmingly felt and localized at the front of the hand, despite originating from the back.

With careful modulation, sensations at 11 different points can be reliably targeted in this way. It’s possible to feel the touch of a button or the shape of a non-existent object in VR, all without interfering with how the hand normally works. In fact, one demo shows the user molding a lump of clay while still being able to distinctly feel the tactile feedback created by this system.

The sensations felt are still “phantom” touches (in the sense that there is no force behind them) so it cannot constrain the user physically the way a glove with actuators can. But not having anything obstructing the normal function of hands and fingers is a powerful advantage.

There’s a short video embedded below that demonstrates things, so give it a watch. And for those who crave nitty-gritty details, here’s a link to the research paper.