Tele-Petting
From: Wired News - 05/17/2005
By: Lakshmi Sandhana

The Touchy Internet system developed by researchers at the University of
Singapore's Mixed Reality Lab enables users to feel a chicken remotely by
stroking a chicken-shaped doll that moves in concert with a real chicken
monitored by a webcam. Tactile data captured by the replica's touch sensors
is sent by radio to a nearby PC, which in turn transmits the data to a remote
computer near the live chicken via the Internet. The second computer
activates vibration motors in a haptic jacket worn by the chicken, enabling
it to sense the user's touch. Remote haptic interaction could enable zoo
visitors to touch animals without putting themselves at risk, while people
with allergies to dogs and cats would be able to physically interact with
their pets. Further advancement of the technology could enable remote haptic
interaction between human beings, and the team that developed Touchy Internet
plans to create a haptic suit for the purpose of "Internet hugging." Team
member Ling Shang Ping says the technology could be applied to remote dance
synchronization, in which people wearing sensor-studded shoes can learn how
to dance by having their muscles stimulated in tandem with the dance
teacher's movements. Director of the University of Southern California's
Information Laboratory Cyrus Shahabi expects at least 10 years to pass before
an object's texture can be haptically reproduced with high fidelity. He also
says current haptic devices cost too much to have consumer appeal. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,67513,00.html

Links:
Mixed Reality Lab
http://www.mixedrealitylab.org/

Information Laboratory at the University of Southern California
http://infolab.usc.edu/Shahabi/index.html