Kisses in virtual reality? Researchers discover how to simulate real sensation

Over time, technology has made the virtual look more and more like the real world. A good example of this is the Metaverse and everything that encompasses these projects, but this time we want to tell you about an interesting discovery made by researchers in virtual reality.

Carnegie Mellon University’s Future Interfaces group has managed to simulate the feeling of a real kiss without using any face-contact material.

Researchers have redesigned a virtual reality headset (VR headset) that recreates the sensation of touch on and around the user’s lips.

Good news for the virtual world

Virtual reality continues to make good progress over time, and its drivers in the vast majority of devices ignore senses such as taste, smell and touch, focusing particularly on sights and sounds.

But over time, researchers have worked to improve virtual reality hardware, designing many of them, along with unique props, to make them feel more and more real.

What has been done so far at Mellon University regarding haptic mouth has not been done before. And although it is not yet possible to feel the fur of a virtual dog with your hands, it is very likely that soon you will be able to feel the sensation of drinking something virtually.

How does the kiss simulation work?

Researchers successfully upgraded a Meta Quest 2 headset with different ultrasonic transducers that focus on the wearer’s mouth. It works without having to use additional accessories or configured hardware.

These ultrasound transducers create the sensation of touching not only the lips, but also the teeth and even the tongue of the user while holding their mouth open.

But that’s not all, the transducers can also recreate the sensation of an object brushing the lips, as well as lingering vibrations, like the lapping of water when leaning over to drink from a fountain.

Source: Publimetro