E-Skin Patch Lets You Stay Connected With Those Around You By Sending Touches

Distance between a loved one can sometimes be unbearable. Although we are supplemented with a plethora of ways to communicate with each other nowadays, there is sometimes no better remedy to loneliness than to feel their touch.

Researchers at City University in Hong Kong hope to close the distance between people with new electronic skin patches that let wearers send touches to each other.

Within each pair rests 16 actuators arranged in a four-by-four pattern that measures 2.8 by 3.9 inches and is just 4.2 mm thick. Housed inside is also a Bluetooth module, analog to digital converter, and a flexible circuit board powering it up.

The actuator comprises a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film, a coil, silicone, and a magnet. An electrical current is converted to a digital signal when someone pokes it. This is where the Bluetooth steps in to send that signal to a partner e-skin. Once received, the other person will feel a vibration that imitates the length and pressure the initial party used on their patch.

Users can wear the patch on any part of their body, such as their legs, arms, back, or neck, and feel the sensation sent to them by their partner.

The e-skin could one day communicate with devices like smartphones and the Internet of Things (IoT) system. 

The team is looking to expand the technology for those with vision loss, where Braille messages are transmitted directly onto their skin.

The original study was first published in the Science Advances journal.

[New Atlas and City University of Hong Kong, images via Dengfeng Li et al., (CC BY 4.0)]