Welcome To A Time Where Virtual-Reality Kisses Feel Like The Real Deal

Scientists at the Carnegie Mellon University’s Future Interfaces Group have designed an add-on to a typical, off-the-shelf virtual reality (VR) headset so that users can now experience sensations of touch in and around their mouths, no doubt taking a step closer to the inevitably of VR kisses becoming a real thing. 

Using what seems to be a Meta Quest 2 headset, the researchers added ultrasonic transducers aimed at the user’s mouth, resulting in air-borne acoustic haptic effects that mimic the touch of another human on the lips, teeth, and even the tongue. 

The team said that by adding on this component of touch, the coordinated graphics while donning the headset become more convincing, “boosting realism and immersion.” 

At the moment, they’ve experimented with various sensory demonstrations, including the feeling of raindrops, mud splatter, pushing through cobwebs (yuck!), and even having bugs crawl on your lips. 

With these scientists being the first to integrate the technology into a headset for use on the mouth, could we soon see it applied to mimicking sensations on other parts of the body? Perhaps, or we’ll just have to make do with AI characters giving us a quick peck. 

[via Gizmodo and Carnegie Mellon University Future Interfaces Group, images via Carnegie Mellon University Future Interfaces Group]