FULU by Ryo Tada facilitates the remote exchange of haptic experiences and improves digital communication.

The majority of digital communication is audio-visual. While it is already possible to transmit sound and image over long distances, technology for communicating through our other senses is still under development or is virtually nonexistent. FULU

FULU: Why? to add a touch to digital communication and provide people with a more rich and emotional experience.

The haptic interface FULU, which you wear on the finger, can replicate user touches and produce touch sensations based on visual data.

Ryo Tada is the creator of FULU.

Innovation designer Ryo Tada was born in Japan. She recently earned a Masters’s in Innovation Design Engineering from the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London, where she currently resides. At Kyoto University, she previously earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in architecture.

Studio Tada, her studio business, was established in February of 2020. She has an interest in design innovation and wants to “make the world a happier place,” according to the biography on her website. She promotes a human-centered approach to design and sees herself as a strategist with a focus on concept creation and design thinking.

Tada has developed a lot of intriguing product designs in addition to having several years of experience working in commercial architecture businesses in Japan and London. These include a calendar that unfolds like a roll of ribbon onto the floor, a digital detox center modeled after a Japanese onsen, and a digital window with a curtain that allows users to share their window view with someone on the other side globe.

Supplies & Methods – Silicon-mounted finger that communicates through Bluetooth

It is on the tip of your finger to utilize FULU. FULU might stick to the nail because of the sticky silicone on its bottom.

Bluetooth connectivity makes it simple to connect to gadgets like laptops and smartphones. To communicate with partners, friends, and family remotely via “touch calls,” you can then share or receive touch information. It integrates with gaming applications and effortlessly works with voice call apps that are more common. It also gives video calls a new dimension.

The interface produces an enhanced tactile experience and can produce the natural nuances that are an integral part of our daily haptic interactions with the environment. FULU is demonstrated utilizing a live video feed from a phone of a texture image being touched on the website. This causes the sensation of touching the thing to be produced. Additionally, tapping with your finger will cause another connected user to feel like the touch.

Like a little squid chunk, it has good style and aesthetics.

This is a tiny, featherweight gadget that would easily fit in your pocket. Although it seems thicker and more like the diameter of a fingertip, they claim to be just the size of a fingernail. Without a doubt, it is not to appear like food. But it does resemble a tiny slice of pineapple chopped squid with its cluster of spiky protrusions and creamy tint.

But in the end, how something feels is more important than how it appears.

The user can simultaneously experience two separate touch modalities when FULU is on top of the fingernail. Virtual touch sensations are felt from above. And below, regular physical contact is unaffected.

FULU is concrete.

The Japanese word for “tangible” is FULU, thus that is the name for the interface. The creators also point out that it has a similar sound to the word “full” in English. This further suggests that the goal of the device is to provide a “full touch” experience.

Look at what’s missing in the design as a memento

This design takes into account how people interact by the tenets of a human-centered design methodology. The device improves upon the shortcomings in our present digital communication ways of interaction. It acknowledges that our sensation of touch may be crucial for creating lasting bonds of trust and empathy.

Other, more useful applications are also on the FULU website. It proposes using it to improve guitar practice sessions or to feel the texture of fabric when purchasing online.