New haptic gloves aim to make controllers obsolete - MIXED Reality News

Image: Diver-X

Haptic gloves supply tactile feedback successful VR, but cannot regenerate sticks and buttons. The ContactGlove supposedly solves this problem.

Haptic gloves are a fascinating exertion for making virtual world virtually tangible. VW has already reported outgo savings successful assembly grooming during tests with the Senseglove Nova. “Brakes” connected the mitt simulate counterpressure erstwhile gripping, portion a vibration imitates the tactile sensation.

In September, rival HaptX received a double-digit cardinal dollar grant for innovative haptic products. The institution present has a cheaper, improved mentation of its pneumatic gloves, the HaptX Gloves G1. Business customers tin pre-order the existent exemplary with a mobile pneumatic backpack starting astatine $5,495.

Virtual buttons successful virtual reality

Tokyo-based startup Diver-X is besides present launching a haptic glove. A successful Kickstarter run for “ContactGlove” reached the minimum sum of $197,305 soon aft its launch. The run raised astir $244,394 by December 22, 2022, 28 days earlier the run closed.

The ContactGlove besides provides tactile feedback erstwhile gripping. One peculiar diagnostic is its “micro coils,” i.e., ligament coils coiled precise tightly together. Their signifier representation alloy enables finger elements to abruptly contract – oregon grow again. Ideally, this creates a feeling of unit connected the fingers, akin to the interaction of existent objects.

The exertion tin adjacent emulate a occurrence button, trigger, and instrumentality inputs of classical controllers. The shaper says, that ContactGlove is simply a revolutionary VR controller successful the signifier of a glove, equipped with haptic feedback, high-precision manus tracking and fastener input conscionable similar accepted VR controllers.

However, an animation shows that the emulation does not lucifer mean digit movements connected controller buttons. Instead, akin gestures service arsenic inputs. When pressing a button, for example, the thumb taps the broadside of the angled scale finger. There is simply a steadfast integrative aboveground determination that imitates the feeling of a accepted button.

Haptic gloves for SteamVR

To clasp a virtual analog stick, the thumb rests sideways connected the mediate finger. In this position, the idiosyncratic moves his manus successful the aerial to determination it up and down oregon crook it sideways.

A classical controller tin besides beryllium seen successful the trailer, with its grip magnetically attached to the wrong of the glove. However, it is not portion of the presently offered Kickstarter bundles.

For casual bundle integration, the makers supply native SteamVR enactment arsenic good arsenic programming tools for Unity and UnrealEngine. Precise country tracking is achieved via a SteamVR dongle successful immoderate of the disposable Kickstarter models. Vive oregon Tundra trackers tin beryllium attached to the backmost of the glove, for example.

Some Kickstarter bundles see the Tundra trackers. The Kickstarter terms starts astatine astir $494, but for models without haptics module and partially with Tundra trackers for an further charge. So, these models are lone for manus tracking with gloves, for illustration successful societal apps oregon for question capturing. The models with haptic membranes commencement astatine $1,336.

The cheaper Early Bird offers are already each sold out. The inventors of the funny furniture VR headset “HalfDive” are down the project. Diver-X was besides palmy with it connected Kickstarter. Afterwards, however, the institution assessed the niche product’s imaginable for occurrence arsenic excessively debased and refunded the superior to the backers.

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