VR gives a user the real feel, but the sense of touch that cannot be obtained prevents a complete immersion experience. A user can use an object in virtual reality, but they cannot feel it in their hand unless they are wearing a special glove designed to provide a sense of touch.

A Cornell University team has developed a prototype glove that can act as a stretchable skin sensor monitoring the fingers’ movements and creating a sense of touching an object.

A stretchable light guide covers each finger, which is made of a transparent polyurethane core with an LED linked core which is full of absorbent dyes. The dyes light up and register a user’s actions when they move their fingers. In turn, this informs the glove to provide feedback to those areas where fingers think they are coming into contact with an object.