VR technology helps couples ‘kiss far away’

Carnegie Mellon University scientists in Pennsylvania have revealed a wearable device virtual reality (VR) provides touch sensations on lips, teeth and tongue, simulating a kiss from a distance. The special thing is that the device does not add any hardware in contact with the wearer’s face, but still reproduces the sensations around the mouth area like the real thing.

The team upgraded the Meta Quest 2 headset with a series of ultrasonic transducers that focus on the user’s mouth. The transducers, in addition to just simulating a gentle touch, can also be used to provide sensations such as feeling a cobweb on your skin, wind blowing across your face while jogging, or even a virtual dining experience.

Most virtual reality devices on the market today ignore the experiences related to taste, smell, and touch, focusing instead on images and sounds. While that makes the VR experience more immersive than it was decades ago, it’s not enough to trick the brain into delivering super-realistic sensations. Over the past five years, a lot of VR technology has been born to bring experiences that users previously thought would only be available in movies.

Another invention from researchers at the University of Tokyo enables physical chewing experiences in virtual reality. The extremely small electric current from the device causes the jaw muscles to contract, a feeling similar to when chewing solid food, promising to bring an extremely interesting virtual eating experience in the future.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore claim they will soon offer virtual food enthusiasts a tool that allows them to taste food that appears on the screen. This device is based on the temperature change on the tip of the tongue, restoring the taste of sweet food. The researchers hope that thanks to their invention, people with diabetes or those hoping to maintain a healthy diet can still enjoy sweet treats.

The startup OVR Technology also brought a breakthrough idea when bringing scent technology to virtual reality. A device called the ION, which contains vials of different scents, is attached to the VR headset. When the user interacts with a virtual reality object connected to one of those scents – such as a rose – a small positive charge releases the appropriate fragrance. OVR CEO Aaron Wisniewski said: “Smell is the element that can create a truly human experience in virtual reality.”

Scientists from the Swiss Institute of Technology Lausanne have invented an ultra-thin, artificial skin wearable less than 500 mm thick, equipped with pneumatic actuators, that can self-deform and adapt to responds to body movements, allowing users to touch and feel things in virtual reality exactly like they do in real life, without the need for electronic vibrations.

Huong Dung (Synthetic)