New Atlas

Good Thinking Audio available

Device may allow the deaf to "hear through their fingertips"

Ben Coxworth June 4, 2019

Amongst the challenges faced by the deaf is what's known as the "cocktail party effect," in which they have difficulty discerning one speaker's voice from others in crowded, noisy environments. A new device could help, however – by buzzing two of their fingers.

A diagram of the Vibrating Auditory Stimulator, which required no training to use

Robotics Audio available

MIT's Jenga-playing robot might have the magic touch for manufacturing

Nick Lavars January 30, 2019

Anyone who has played a game of Jenga will know the delicate touch required to keep the tower of wooden blocks from crashing down, and it’s not the kind of finesse you’d associate with a typical robot. But MIT's robot arm can push and prod with the best of them.

Wearables

Muscle-equipped gloves give VR users a sense of touch

Ben Coxworth May 30, 2017

When people want to experience tactile feedback while exploring virtual reality environments, they use hand-held devices that vibrate in response to the touching of virtual surfaces. Now, however, scientists are developing gloves that reportedly provide a much more life-like experience.

The current setup allows users to play a virtual piano

Robotics

No pain no gain: Hurting robots so they can save themselves

Nick Lavars May 26, 2016

Researchers are developing an artificial nervous system for robots, a tool they believe will better equip these machines to avoid damage and preserve their well-being.

The researchers developed a pain-reflex controller for a BioTac fingertip sensor fitted to a Kuka robotic ...

Electronics

Ultrasound makes for palm-based computer displays you can feel

Nick Lavars April 11, 2016

Sending ultrasound waves through the back of hand to deliver tactile sensations to the front might sound a little far-fetched, but by achieving just that UK scientists claim to have cleared the way for computers that use our palms as advanced interactive displays.

Researchers at the University of Sussex are working to augment palm-based displays by adding tactile sensations ...

Science

First bionic fingertip implant delivers sensational results

Ben Coxworth March 8, 2016

Dennis Aabo Sørensen may be missing a hand, but he nonetheless recently felt rough and smooth textures using a fingertip on that arm. The fingertip was electronic, and was surgically hard-wired to nerves in his upper arm.

The bionic fingertip, and its natural counterpart

Wearables

Proximity Hat presses users' heads to guide them

Ben Coxworth January 28, 2016

We've already seen a number of systems designed to alert blind users to objects in their path, using cues such as audio tones or vibrations. The "Proximity Hat," however, applies pressure to the wearer's head, in the direction of the obstacle.

The Proximity Hat prototype has already been successfully tested

Good Thinking

Pneumatic tech could bring affordable full-page braille tablets to reality

Ben Coxworth January 18, 2016

Suppose you had a tablet that only displayed one line of text at a time. It would be pretty frustrating, but it's a limitation that blind users of braille-displaying devices are faced with constantly. Thanks to new technolog, however, full-page braille tablets could soon be on their way.

The new technology would create braille dots using fluid- or air-filled-bubbles

Medical

Revolutionary mechanical hand adds a sense of touch to mind-controlled prostheses

Anthony Wood September 14, 2015

A mechanical hand utilizing DARPA-developed neural technologies has become the first to allow a paralyzed patient to feel physical sensations through a prosthesis. The test subject was able to determine which mechanical finger was being touched whilst blindfolded, with total accuracy.

The modular hand constructed by Johns Hopkins University utilizes DARPA tech to allow subjects to feel ...

VR

Feelreal VR Mask and Nirvana helmet let gamers smell and feel the action

Richard Moss April 30, 2015

In what could just as easily prove to be a very bad idea as it could a good one, a startup company called Feelreal has created a virtual reality mask and helmet that lets you smell virtual environments as well as feel a little of their atmosphere.

Feelreal hopes its VR mask and helmet will bring two more senses – smell and feel ...