Virtual Touch | Allison Okamura

Recently on the show, we had a conversation about the possibility of creating artificial vision with a bionic eye. Today we're going to talk about technology to enhance another sense, one that often goes underappreciated, our sense of touch.

We humans actually have one of the most sensitive senses of touch on the planet. Just in the tip of your fingers, there are thousands of tiny sensors, which scientists call mechanoreceptors that sense texture, vibration, pressure, even pain. Our sense of touch also lets us track how our bodies are moving in space. In fact, our refined sense of touch may be part of our success as a species. We humans use touch for everything. Building tools, writing, playing music, you name it. And on an emotional level, touch is fundamental to our social lives. Touch lets us connect with each other and the world around us.

But of course, we increasingly live in a technological world where we're often separated from the physical connections that are so important to us. Think about having a conversation on Zoom where you can't put your hand on a friend's arm to emphasize a point. Some scientists and engineers now think we should be building technology that reconnects us with the physical world rather than separating us from it. This is a growing area of research in robotics and virtual reality, a field called haptics.

That brings us to today's guest. Allison Okamura is Richard W. Weiland Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford, and a deputy director of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. Her lab — the Collaborative Haptics and Robotics for Medicine (CHaRM) Lab — is dedicated to extending or augmenting the amazing human sense of touch through technology.

Learn more

• Okamura leads the Collaborative Haptics and Robotics for Medicine (CHaRM) Lab  at Stanford
• Check out videos at the CHaRM Lab YouTube channel 

Further Reading

• Researchers create a device that imitates social touch, but from afar (Stanford Engineering)
• Medical 'mixed reality' applications take center stage (Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute)
• Researchers building glove to treat symptoms of stroke (Stanford Medicine)
• Stanford’s Robot Makers: Allison Okamura (Stanford News)
• Stanford students learn to enhance computers and robots with touch (Stanford News)

Episode Credits
This episode was produced by Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker and Christian Haigis, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Cover art by Aimee Garza.

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