Researchers bring ‘smart hands’ closer to reality

You may be soon able to use your skin as a touchscreen, as researchers including one of Indian-origin have successfully created tactile sensations on the palm using ultrasound sent through the hand.

The study by scientists from University of Sussex in the UK is the first to find a way for users to feel what they are doing when interacting with displays projected on their hand.

This solves one of the biggest challenges for technology companies who see the human body, particularly the hand, as the ideal display extension for the next generation of smartwatches and other smart devices, researchers said. Current ideas rely on vibrations or pins, which both need contact with the palm to work, interrupting the display.

This new innovation, called SkinHaptics, sends sensations to the palm from the other side of the hand, leaving the palm free to display the screen. The device uses ‘time-reversal’ processing to send ultrasound waves through the hand.