Humans can detect buried objects without touching them
Earth.com••technology
Key Points:
- Researchers at University College London demonstrated "remote touch," where human fingertips can detect objects buried under sand from nearly 2.76 inches (7 cm) away by sensing subtle mechanical cues transmitted through the granular material.
- In experiments with 12 volunteers, participants correctly identified a hidden cube beneath sand with 70.7% accuracy while keeping their fingertips about 2.72 inches (6.9 cm) away, marking the first study of remote touch in humans.
- A tactile robot using neural networks detected buried objects at similar distances but with only 40% precision due to false positives, highlighting challenges in replicating human tactile sensitivity in machines.
- The study reveals that tactile perception can extend beyond direct contact by interpreting faint vibrations reflected through sand grains
