Check out this terrifying phone case made of artificial human skin

midian182

Posts: 9,763   +121
Staff member
WTF?! Have you ever looked at your phone and thought: “Yeah, it’s good. But encasing it in artificial skin to create a David Cronenberg-style mix of flesh and machine would be even better.” Probably not, but researchers have designed a technology that does exactly that.

Gizmodo reports that Marc Teyssier and his team at Telecom Paris designed the disturbing phone case tech, which is called Skin-on Interfaces. “When we interact with others, we use skin as interfaces. However the objects of mediated communication - such as the smartphone - still has a cold interface that doesn't allow natural interaction and input,” writes Teyssier. “In this project, I wanted to make available the perfect human interface that is the skin for existing devices.”

Two prototypes were created using the Skin-on interfaces: “simple” and “ultrarealistic.” They’re able to detect and recognize gestures such as tickling, poking, stretching, grabbing, and pinching. Additionally, these gestures can be associated with various emotions, so a light tap lets the phone know you want its attention, while squeezing it tightly indicates you’re angry. One of its potential uses is “tactile communication with a virtual avatar,” which sounds like a creepy next step in human-machine relationships.

The skin is created using two silicon layers called the epidermis and hypodermis that are dipped in pigment and molded to resemble human skin. Between them sits an electrode layer made up of stretchable conductive yarn, which act as sensors.

The team showed how the technology can also be used on laptop touchpads and smartwatches. The next step is to make the skin even more realistic by adding hair, temperature features, sweat, and goosebumps.

Teyssier said he started the project “to propose a possible future with anthropomorphic devices.” This isn’t the researcher’s first foray into nightmarish smartphone tech; he was also behind the robot finger attachment that drags around your handset and caresses your writs.

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Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.
 
You think people are freaking out now? Wait till they start producing this stuff in different colours. Or if they don't. Or if they do. I dunno.
 
The video with the finger cell phone attachment....

Warning Label:
"Product not to be used internally!"

This brings a hole new meaning to getting fingered..

Oh god, so many jokes, but these two horrible ones were the ones I went with... ugh

 
They need to make a model that you can stroke a few times and it would turn into a desk top tower ..... LOL
 
You think people are freaking out now? Wait till they start producing this stuff in different colours. Or if they don't. Or if they do. I dunno.
I would think the NAACP and other similar organizations would sue if they didn't produce them in colors other that Caucasian
 
When I first read the headline, I was imagining that they actually cultured human skin cells which would have made this really freaky.

Seeing what it actually is, I do believe this could lead to some beneficial advances for people with artificial limbs.

I also foresee the doll makers for lonely single people taking advantage of this too.
 
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