Sense of touch!!

Add a little carbon and less bulk quick opinion.

the problem with these sorts of devices as i see it is that while you may be able to provide some amount of touch or haptic-feedback you can't really provide resistance to movement.

so, you could feel the object but you could also put your virtual hand right through the middle of it!

maybe if you learnt to use the device, learnt where the physical limits where for touching an object you would be able to make it work but that's kind of a hurdle and makes the device hard to use because you have to train yourself not to put your virtual hands through the middle of objects.

am i on the right track here? do people understand where i'm coming from?

I'm not sure it's impossible to make a mechanical rig that applies enough force to make you unable to move your hand past a certain point, but at some point there might be issues of safety and wear and tear. I think this sort of thing, at least for the near future will require a certain willingness to play along and allow yourself to become immersed. If you feel a certain amount of pressure being applied you know that is the surface of the object and you don't try to compress it further, even if you are physically able to.

today's mechanical approaches are very bulky... maybe, it can be narrowed down
...and also i think it's impossible to do 6DOF mechanical finger tracing







about mini airbag inflating for touch sensing:

Couldn't they use something like those "pin impression toys". Like the one Woody was pushed into in Toy Story 2. Google image that search to see what I mean. With actuators on and enough pins you could feel actual texture. (It would be great for the blind. eBook braille.) If able to bend using that airbag tech you could have a full body system, that could go rigid when you put your weight on a virtual table. You'd have to make sure it wasn't strong enough to break your bones oc.

New suggestions...

Linear Resonant Actuator (LRA) Vibration Motors :: Haptic Feedback
http://www.precisionmicrodrives.com/vibrating-vibrator-vibration-motors/linear-resonant-actuator-lra-haptic-vibration-motors

LRAs (linear resonate actuators) are closer to being the leading contender for sense of touch. They can be very small, they're cheap, they don't require a compressor and aren't prone to leaks, they're as reliable as any other micro motor, they're tunable in amplitude and frequency and can allegedly produce the illusion of directional force.

Electrotactile Stimulators
http://betastuffs.blogspot.com/2012/08/scientists-simulate-touch-with.html
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/08/smart-fingertips-pave-way-for-vi.html
http://www.iop.org/news/12/aug/page_56690.html

ultrasonic waterproof transducers for an array of these in a sensory deprivation tank can give you a sense of touch :D

http://gaia.adage.com/images/bin/image/medium/Mistry,_Pranav_02_Feb._2010.JPG?1267814556

Pranav Mistry making a haptic gesture interface out of a roll ball mouse. Interesting part is from beginning to 2:25.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrtANPtnhyg&end=_TIME_2:25