DEVELOPMENT OF NEURO-TACTILE HAPTICS TECH

[Anchor Lead]

Korean researchers have developed a technology that enables people to touch and feel objects in virtual reality. This ground-breaking neuro-tactile haptics technology is expected to be used widely in creating a virtual world.

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This is a virtual reality campsite. When a user wearing gloves throws stones at a fence, the fence collapses. You can also grab firewoood and place it in the campfire pit. The user can feel vibrations when you grab an object in the virtual reality setting. If you put your hand close to the flame, you can even feel the heat.

[Soundbite] Lee Bo-eun(Ulju-gun Dist. resident) : "I could clearly feel vibrations and the temperature hike when grabbing the objects. I could feel with my palms how hot it was."

Controllers used in virtual reality so far could only measure users' movements and transmit them to VR. But these VR gloves developed by researchers from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology can transmit various tactile sensations, including heat and vibration. The researchers used their homegrown liquid metal printing technology to develop major components, such as sensors, heaters and conducting wires. The exquisitely manufactured components can maintain their functions even when fingers are bent or moved. They are expected to be used widely in developing cutting-edge digital technologies.

[Soundbite] Prof. Bae Jun-beom(UNIST) : "The gloves are easy to wear and can transmit signals even when bent. They will likely be used widely in wearable systems, digital healthcare and entertainment."

This neuro-tactile haptics technology has been selected as the cover thesis of the special VR/AR edition of the materials science journal "Advanced Functional Materials."