Can wire feel like velvet?
{ Multi-Sensory }
When you use this hands-on exhibit…you’ll run your hands over hard wire to see if you can feel the Velvet Hand Illusion (VHI)
Research on the Velvet Hand Illusion is being used by Japanese scientists to develop virtual reality experiences and other touch technology, such as tactile sensors and displays.
Virtual reality games use sights and sounds to create virtual worlds, but other developers are researching taste, smell and touch to make games more vivid.
How can you turn hard wire into jelly?
As you rub your hands around the wires, the gaps between the touch receptors in your skin may be ‘filled in’ by your brain, so it feels velvety.
This is called the filling-in phenomenon.
The velvety sensation tends to be felt in the between two lines or pieces of wire, rather than the entire region of your hand.
When the illusion has been tried on horizontal, rather than vertical wires, the illusion isn’t as strong or consistent for many people. Similarly, a single wire tends to give a weaker illusion.