Watch this wearable electronic skin control virtual objects

Virtual reality can plunge you into the depths of the ocean or let you fly through space, but when it comes to interacting with these virtual worlds, the technology can be frustratingly limited. A wearable, electronic skin could change that. Writing today in Science Advances, researchers describe a flexible “e-skin” that can track small movements, allowing users to control virtual objects using their hands and fingers. The artificial skin is only 3.5 micrometers thick—about the same width as a single thread of spider silk—and consists of a tiny magnetic field sensor sandwiched between two layers of film.