A tactile communications device that enables people to virtually hug themselves, developed by a research group from the University of Electro-Communications was displayed at the 3D and Virtual Reality Exhibition.
Sense-Roid, which won the overall prize at IVRC 2010, consists of a mannequin covered in tactile sensors and a tactile jacket with vibration motors and artificial muscles which recreate the feel of the hug.
"There are pressure sensors throughout the whole mannequin-type device, and when they sense an embrace, they activate artificial muscles in the jacket. It can also reproduce the feeling that the wearer is being rubbed on the back. If you rub it on the back then the rear pressure sensors detect it is being rubbed. There is a matrix of vibration motors on the back of the jacket, and the motors in the same position as you are rubbing vibrate, to give a feeling of having your own back rubbed."
"When people embrace, if their counterpart is a stranger, they probably don't get much of a good feeling from it. If it is a lover then they likely get a very nice feeling of security and satisfaction. We think that tactile communications like an embrace has a varied effect depending on the relationship with the other party. Thinking along those lines, we wondered what kind of feelings people would have if they could hug themselves, the person they have the closest relationship to, and so we made this."
"People who experienced it first reacted by saying it was weird, but gradually as they did it some said they felt more secure, and so we considered that this system could be applied as a form of therapy. Right now we expand it by using artificial muscles, so there is room to improve the reproduction of the tactile feeling, and if we could reproduce a more realistic tactile feel, it could be used it for giving massages, for example, so that people could massage themselves in the places that they want to have massaged."
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