A VERY SMART GLOVE

Virtual-reality gloves have come a step closer: Researchers have succeeded in creating semiconductors with the flexibility of rubber—and embedded the circuitry into skinlike sleeves that can be slipped onto fingertips. The circuitry, from gold and silicon mesh one micron thick, was affixed to thin, malleable plastic. Wearers of these "smart fingertips" can experience artificially generated touch and texture, via electrical stimulation. Researchers, including engineers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University, also envision incorporating various sensors into this second skin. They foresee, for example, gloves for cardiac surgeons that take EKG readings directly from exposed heart tissue.