Skills:
hardware prototyping;
wearable design;
user studies;
research paper writing;
VR integration
Chemical Haptics: Rendering Haptic Sensations via Topical Stimulants
Jasmine Lu, Ziwei Liu, Jas Brooks, and Pedro Lopes.
ACM UIST User Interface Software and Technology Symposium, 2021
doi.org/10.1145/3472749.3474747
Motivation
Most haptic devices rely on mechanical actuation and can only stimulate mechanoreceptors. Yet the skin is a rich sensory surface — it can feel warmth radiating from a flame, the sharp sting of a nettle, the cooling spread of menthol, and the electric tingle of carbonation. These sensations are not mechanical — they are chemical.
Many skin receptors — thermoreceptors, nociceptors — are chemically sensitive and govern sensations like warmth, cold, and tingling that are hard to reproduce mechanically. Yet the haptic interfaces we design have almost entirely ignored this channel, leaving an entire dimension of human experience unexplored.
This gap matters especially as virtual reality and embodied computing become more immersive. Could we trigger chemically-sensitive receptors directly through topical stimulants — unlocking a novel, creative, and neuroscience-grounded approach to haptic design?
Contribution
My contribution focused on engineering and iterating the hardware prototypes for Chemical Haptics — a wearable silicone patch with embedded micropumps that delivers topical stimulants directly to the skin. I worked through multiple design iterations to achieve reliable chemical delivery, testing compounds including sanshool (tingling), lidocaine (numbing), cinnamaldehyde (stinging), capsaicin (warming), and menthol (cooling) from a single actuator. The prototypes validated the concept and demonstrated the device's small form factor and flexibility as a wearable.
And beyond...
Chemical haptics opens a pathway to sensations that mechanical actuators simply cannot produce — and it does so with a device light enough to wear on the face, arm, or leg without restricting movement.
This work raises interesting questions about the future of embodied interaction: if we can chemically render the feeling of cold air, electric sparks, or numbness, what else might be possible? And how do we think carefully about consent and safety as haptic interfaces become more intimate?
I'm excited to keep exploring the intersection of chemistry, the body, and interactive systems — and what it means to design for the full range of human sensation.