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Delivering Touch and Feel Over the Internet

by Terrence O'Brien on August 30, 2007 at 05:51 PM

Delivering Touch and Feel Over the Internet

There's sex on the Internet, but if researchers at Northern Ireland's Queens University are successful you might someday be able to have sex over the Internet. And we don't mean steamy text chats or even a naughty video encounter.

Currently underway at the university's Institute of Electronics, Communications, and Information Technology is a program to deliver the sensation of touch over the Internet. Using what's known as haptic technology, the idea is to use force, vibration and motion to simulate the sense of touch. Though he's given no clue as to what kinds of devices the end user would need to enjoy the new touchy-feely Internet, Professor Alan Marshall and his colleagues envision this new technology adding a new layer of interactivity and immersion to the Internet. Besides sex in virtual worlds such as 'Second Life' and 'World of Warcraft,' this new touch technology opens the door to concepts like being able to feel a pair of jeans before you buy them, or sending a virtual hug to Grandma on her birthday. Even more promising is the prospect of giving the visually impaired a better way to interact with the Web.

Then again, it's all fun and games until some hacker develops a virus that slaps computer users in the face.

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Tags: breaking+news, haptic, internet, queens university, QueensUniversity, top, touch

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