First they came with faux-skin cases, and we said nothing...
Technology is constantly evolving, adapting, and improving, and it's often difficult to keep apace with the latest developments.
But sometimes you're better off not keeping up...
Especially when Marc Teyssier at Telecom Paris in France and his colleagues have devised an artificial skin for interactive devices that responds to your touch.
Your touch or... tickle, pinch and squeeze.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuEhqHvE1qU
Clip via Marc Teyssier
You'd be forgiven for thinking this is actually a leaked plot from the next series of Black Mirror, but alas, we regret to tell you this is real.
But thankfully, it's not on sale yet and will instead be presented at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology in New Orleans.
The artificial skin is made of three layers, consisting of a layer of stretchable copper wire sandwiched between two layers of silicone. Pressure on the skin changes the electric charge of the system.
"When we interact with others, we use skin as interfaces," explained designer Marc Teyssier.
"However the objects of mediated communication — such as the smartphone — still has a cold interface that doesn't allow natural interaction and input. In this project, I wanted to make available the perfect human interface that is the skin for existing devices."
