Soft 'e-skin' developed in Hong Kong could make giving hugs over the internet a reality

It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie – a soft ‘e-skin’ that can actually feel touch.

But a group of researchers at City University of Hong Kong have built exactly that.

A stretchy patch that can sense when you tap it and send that feeling to someone else wearing the same thing.

Imagine poking your friend on the arm from across the planet and they actually feel it!

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What is ‘e-skin’ and how does it work?

The magic of this electronic ‘skin’ is inside the patch – a tiny 4×4 grid of flexible squares that each act like little nerves.

Press one and a small magnet inside moves through a coil, creating an electric signal. 

That signal shoots off through Bluetooth to another patch somewhere else, which makes its magnet vibrate to copy the same feeling.

So when you tap yours, your friend feels a tap too.

It’s not one-way either – they can tap back. 

Think of it like a touch walkie-talkie.

Because each e-skin can send and receive at the same time, the scientists linked them together in a system they call Touch IoT, short for ‘Touch Internet of Things.’

It lets people and gadgets share real touch over a network, kind of like how we share pictures or songs.

The world’s first internet for touch.

The e-skin itself is super flexible, thin, and comfy enough to wear anywhere – arms, legs, even your back.

Each square buzzes just hard enough for your skin to feel it (about 200 times a second, the perfect tickle range).

And it’s tough. 

After 10,000 test pokes, it still works fine.

From remote high-fives to full-on internet hugs with Touch IoT

So what could you actually do with this? 

Well… turns out, a lot.

Starting simple, the e-skin could be used for high-fives between friends, handshakes in video games, or sending a hug to your parents when they’re far away.

It could also revolutionize the medical field, allowing doctors to guide patients in remote checkups. 

Teachers might use it to send touch cues to students learning Braille or music.

It could even help astronauts feel things through thick gloves in space, or let gamers actually feel what’s happening in virtual reality.

Right now, it only does vibration – no warmth or real pressure yet – but the idea’s clear: if sight and sound can travel across the internet, why not touch?

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