A flexible haptic patch lets you feel the virtual world

As virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies rapidly evolve, the demand for more immersive, multisensory experiences grows alongside them. Among the key frontiers is tactile feedback—the ability to physically feel the virtual world.

While wearable haptic suits equipped with vibrational motors or fluidic actuators have made strides in enhancing realism, delivering precise, diverse, and natural tactile sensations to the skin remains a major challenge. The limitation has largely stemmed from a lack of compact, lightweight, high-performance tactile actuators.

That’s where our research takes a bold step forward. My colleagues and I have developed a new class of thin, flexible tactile actuators designed to deliver rich, nuanced haptic feedback directly to the skin.

Our work is published in the journal Science Advances.

Tiny, powerful tactile actuators

To provide dense and varied tactile sensations, actuators must be both compact and capable of generating a wide range of feedback. Addressing this, we created a novel tactile actuator based on a dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA). DEAs produce significant area expansion when voltage is applied, thanks to the phenomenon known as Maxwell stress. By combining a DEA with a small compressive spring, we successfully converted this area expansion into a linear displacement.

The result is a remarkably small actuator measuring just 6 mm in diameter and 1.1 mm in thickness. Despite its thin, compact design, the actuator can produce tactile sensations ranging from pressure to high-frequency vibrations, all while consuming less than 60 mW of power. Impressively, the actuator is powerful enough to lift a 25 g weight, despite its very light weight of 32 mg.

A flexible, skin-conformal haptic patch

Building upon this actuator, we developed a flexible haptic patch incorporating a dense array of nine actuators within a small fingerpad-sized area. Fabricated on a thin, flexible printed circuit board (PCB), the entire patch weighs only 0.3 g and can comfortably conform to the contours of the skin without hindering natural hand movements. Each actuator is individually controlled, enabling the patch to dynamically render textures, simulate the 3D surfaces of virtual objects, and deliver intricate patterns of tactile feedback.

To complete the system, we integrated a reflective photomicrosensor array, allowing the patch not only to deliver haptic feedback but also to sense touch. This bidirectional capability opens the door for wireless tactile communication in VR environments or between users, where touch sensations can be encoded, transmitted, and recreated in real time.

Looking ahead

Our work introduces a thin, flexible, and lightweight wearable haptic patch, made possible by this next-generation tactile actuator technology. Beyond VR and AR applications, we believe these actuators hold potential for broader use, including in miniaturized robotics, advanced prosthetics, and medical devices.

By bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds, this technology marks an exciting step toward making touch a natural part of our digital experiences.

This story is part of Science X Dialog, where researchers can report findings from their published research articles. Visit this page for information about Science X Dialog and how to participate.

Jung-Hwan is an postdoctroral researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Before joining, he worked as a post-doc at the Electronics Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI). He finished his Ph.D. in Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Techonology (KAIST). His research interests include haptics, soft robotics and human-robot interaction.