This "Electronic Skin" Will Give You The Force

You know you've always fancifully imagined having the Force--especially when you get comfortable on the couch and the remote is sitting on the other side of the room. Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of the Force in our galaxy, but a new "electronic skin" gets us pretty close.

Granted, this second skin, as it were, won't let you Force the remote to yourself (I know, I know...but I'm still dreaming), but it will still let you interact with things in the physical and virtual world without even having to touch them. The best part? It's insanely thin and moves with your skin. Take a look at this video to help you understand it a little better:

Using a little magnetic sensor to create voltage when in close proximity with a magnet, the "e-skin" will let us manipulate things in the virtual world much easier than we can now. Throw away those bulky Xbox/Playstation controllers, because your hands will be the controllers of the future. Obviously, this is much more natural and manageable than the way we interact with VR presently.

The primary application for this technology is virtual reality, but as a Star Wars fan, I find real-world applications much more exciting. How about turning on the lights or the oven by just pointing at it? Or actually being able to open the elevator doors with a wave of your hand? (Don't deny you've done it). I mean, better VR controls are nice and all, but seriously--give us the Force.

In any case, this new tech looks set to open up a whole new world of possibilities in VR and in robotics. Leave a comment: what applications do you see for the e-skin? 

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​I like talking about sci-fi, Star Wars, and where the two meet real life every Monday. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out my other "Real Life Sci-fi" blog posts here and my "Star Wars" posts here.