AI camera can tell what surfaces feel like with just a glance

By Donna Lu

Cavan Images / Alamy

An AI linked to a camera can tell the physical properties of surfaces without touching them.

Matthew Purri and Kristin Dana at Rutgers University in New Jersey have trained an algorithm that can determine the tactile characteristics of an object when presented solely with a photograph or series of images of it.

They took photographs of more than 400 materials, including cloth, plastic, leather and wood surfaces. Then they took 100 images of each surface using a device with a mechanical …