According to recent research, humans may have a new touch-related sense that allows us to detect buried objects without actually touching them.
The human sense of touch turns out to be much more sensitive than we thought. It goes beyond just simple physical contact with an object. A new study has demonstrated that humans have the ability to remotely detect the presence of an object, like having a new sense beyond the five that we’re used to.
It brings to mind special abilities found in the animal kingdom. Like the special sense of geckos that allows them to detect vibrations, and the ability of sandpipers to detect objects underneath the sand with their beaks. The study employed similar techniques to sandpipers, having human subjects find an object hidden in the sand. The subjects were able to detect its presence even before actually coming into physical contact with the buried item.
This study brought together a team of four researchers from Queen Mary University of London and the University College London. Their findings were published in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers journal under the title „Exploring Tactile Perception for Object Localization in Granular Media: A Human and Robotic Study“ in 2025. The publication highlights that implications for these findings can impact the field of robotics, as well as for other touch-based tools and systems used for scientific purposes.
