A virtual touch of reality

Digital interactivity plays a significant role our current environment. Our eyesight and hearing are constantly in demand by our permanent use of tablets and smartphones. However, these devices do not provide touch-and-feel feedback through their screens. This film is a description of a tactile feedback device developed by Betty Semail's team, the STIMTAC (Touch Stimulator). It relies on the principle of creating a texture illusion felt through a flat surface.
Produced in collaboration with Marie-Ange Bueno, a tribologist specialised in textile friction, this application is intended for the general public for mail order sales, allowing Internet users to have the impression of touching clothes directly on their screens. Another application in the medical field could be considered with Défi-sens (or "sense challenge", an interdisciplinary programme launched by the CNRS) with the aim of better understanding tactile impairment, which is little known and difficult to identify. This system could finally play a major role in the rehabilitation of patients.