What if you could share the texture of fabric, the sensation of plucking a guitar string or shaping clay with another person thousands of kilometers away?
Japanese researchers at NTT Docomo, Keio University and the Nagoya Institute of Technology have made this a reality.
The researchers have developed what they claim to be the world¡¯s first ¡°sensation sharing¡± technology, which allows users to send movements or tactile sensations digitally via a remote sensor and reproduce them in small, subtle vibrations.
Hironori Ishikawa, an NTT Docomo official overseeing the project, said the development will amplify the potential of human communication.
¡°We¡¯ve been communicating through words, images and music, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve been able to see the whole picture from just these factors,¡± Ishikawa said.
The ¡°Feel Tech¡¯¡¯ technology detects the physical touch of a person through a device, sends the data online via Docomo¡¯s human augmentation platform and recreates the feeling in another device for someone else to feel.
The technology is also capable of adjusting the sensory data so that the recipient will be able to sense the ¡°touch¡± being transmitted more clearly. Docomo plans to use 6G mobile networks to ensure that transmitted sensations are in sync with the footage being shown.
Online shoppers, for instance, will be able to use the technology to feel different types of fabrics used in clothing and judge its quality.
Ishikawa said the technology also enables people to share skills and techniques. Artisans, for example, can remotely share their craft with others, which he hopes can help alleviate the issue of the declining number of successors. The technology may also be similarly used by doctors to share their knowledge.
Starting next year, Docomo plans to further develop the technology so that people will be able to share other sensory experiences, such as taste, hearing and emotions.
¡°This way, we can try to fully understand how others are feeling and by doing so, we hope to contribute to solving social problems like harassment,¡± Ishikawa added.
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