Although we might not quite be at the stage that the likes of Bladerunner and Back to the Future prepared us for, science and technology is started to get a little serious and creepy – especially when it comes to artificial skin.
As reported by NewScientist, artificial skin might be making its way to the video games industry in the hopes of improving just how realistic a game can feel to the player.
So what is artificial skin? According to NewScientist, synthetic skin is a patch that you can apply to any part of your body. The patch “vibrates and gently pushes the skin surface” using battery-free wireless technology, and can blend into the user’s skin colour with a cloth covering.
Created by John Rogers and his team at Northwestern University in Illinois, the tech was demonstrated with a person wearing a prosthetic hand. While wearing the artificial skin, the demonstrator picked up a cup with his prosthetic hand. While this happened, sensors in the artificial skin recreated the feeling, giving the user the sensation of lifting the cup.
To dumb it down as much as possible (mostly for myself to wrap my head around the idea), it’s like VR for your skin.
Using the skin while playing a game could see players feel the impact of a strike in battle, kicking a ball, climbing and more.
As the artificial skin is still in its early developmental stages, don’t expect to be getting your hands on it anytime soon. Still, it seems like an amazingly cool leap for science, technology and the world of video games.
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