Technology
Wearable haptic technology adds the sense of touch to virtual reality
Scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) have developed a wearable system that enables more natural and emotionally engaging interactions in shared digital spaces, opening new possibilities for remote work, education, healthcare, wellbeing, socialisation and gaming. “T is project was born from a simple, deeply
human desire: to feel closer to the people we miss,” said Premankur Banerjee, doctoral student in the Haptics Robotics and Virtual Interaction (HaRVI) Lab at USC and fi rst author of the study. T e system includes gloves and armbands
fi tted with small, vibration motors that simulate sensations like pressure and movement. T is enables users to perform and feel gestures like handshakes, pats and squeezes within a virtual space. Users can also interact with virtual objects and receive realistic vibration feedback. T e system can support up to 16 users
simultaneously, each represented by a full-body 3D avatar that mirrors their real-
world movements inside the shared virtual environment. Users can move freely around one another and interact with virtual objects – like passing an object or completing a task. Lab tests showed that participants felt a
greater sense of presence and social connection when tactile feedback was included. T e research also explored how diff erent factors, like gesture speed and vibration type, infl uence emotional and sensory experiences, providing insights into how to design more engaging virtual touch interactions.
USC haptics project links a person to a VR avatar “Developing this technology requires expertise
from many fi elds. Our team combines computer science, engineering, neuroscience, psychology and social sciences to create hardware and soſt ware that not only functions technically but also supports natural, emotionally meaningful social interactions,” said Heather Culbertson, associate professor of computer science at USC Viterbi. “People will continue interacting virtually – it’s
part of modern life. But how can we make online interactions better refl ect the social benefi ts that come from real-world experiences?”
6G networks to become faster, streamlined and energy effi cient thanks to a university AI project
Researchers at Ulster University have used artifi cial intelligence (AI) to develop a learning system that could change the future of mobile connectivity. T e innovation promises to make 6G communications faster, smarter and a lot more energy effi cient. Named MIMONet, the AI system tackles one of the most urgent challenges in global wireless communication: how to detect and process signals accurately and effi ciently when millions of devices are connected simultaneously. “We’re tackling a fundamental bottleneck in
wireless communication. By applying AI to one of the toughest engineering challenges, we’ve developed a system that improves accuracy whilst easing the processing load. T at’s essential as the world moves toward 6G and billions of connected devices,” said Ulster University PhD researcher, Yunis Daha.
At the heart of 6G are massive multiple-
input multiple-output (ma-MIMO) systems. Traditional methods for MIMO signal detection are not always accurate and oſt en use enormous computational power, making them impractical. MIMONet overcomes this by applying a lightweight deep learning model that can quickly and effi ciently determine separate signals even in the most complex and noisy conditions. T e result is faster, more reliable and less power hungry communications networks, since they need less hardware and therefore energy. MIMONet has been proven to outperform
traditional algorithms, but also the currently most advanced AI-driven detectors such as AIDETECT, developed at Ulster University in 2023. Building on that earlier success, MIMONet delivers superior accuracy across
04 September 2025
www.electronicsworld.co.uk
small, medium and large network confi gurations whilst keeping computational demands low. T is combination of power and effi ciency makes it robust enough for the enormous demands of next-generation networks, with potential applications in ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) – essential for technologies such as driverless cars, real-time robotics and smart cities. “6G will underpin technologies like
autonomous transport, remote healthcare and immersive digital environments, but, for these to work, networks must process vast amounts of information quickly and reliably. T is research shows how artifi cial intelligence can provide a practical solution, paving the way for communications that are both highly scaleable and energy effi cient,” said Ulster University’s Dr Usman Hadi.
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