MIT engineers create a 'second skin' with optical fibres for full-body VR tracking

MIT engineers have developed a flexible sheet of optical fibres that digitally reconstructs its own 3D shape as it bends and folds. A custom algorithm tracks light through the fibre waveguides with an error margin under 0.4 cm, versus 1–2 cm for rigid sensors. The team sees it as a wearable 'second skin' for VR body tracking, Vtubing and physical therapy.

• Shape reconstruction error is under 0.4 cm
• Rigid sensor designs show errors of about 1–2 cm
• The sheet keeps working after being pierced with a hole puncher
• Fibres are 1 mm thick, potentially tens of micrometres later