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Engineers at Northwestern University in Illinois have created VoxeLite, a bandage-like device that stretches around the fingertip and lets users “feel the digital world,” as described in a Northwestern article about the device. Featuring a series of nodes, the wrap creates a digital touch that replicates how a human fingertip senses touch.
VoxeLite is two thin latex sheets with a grid of nodes inside it. Each node is separate and moves on its own. Each one works like a pixel of touch and is made of three parts: a soft rubber dome, a conductive outer layer and an inner electrode.
When voltage is applied to a node, electro-adhesion occurs, allowing each node to “grip” a surface, tilt or move, then press lightly into the skin, letting users feel what’s happening in the digital world by mimicking it.
Devices like VoxeLite could lead to more immersive virtual-reality systems, assistive technologies for people with vision impairments, human-robot interfaces and enhanced touchscreens.
The engineers plan to develop a version that can connect to smartphones or tablets, which would allow users to feel surfaces or materials while shopping online or to feel objects in video games.
This research was published in November 2025 in the journal Science Advances.