Startup Behind Ambitious HalfDive VR Headset Launches New Kickstarter for VR Haptic Gloves - Road to VR

Diver-X, the Japan-based startup known for pitching an ambitious VR headset earlier this year, is astatine it again, this clip with a brace of VR gloves that incorporates a membrane susceptible of flexing and compressing to replicate the sensation of touch.

The archetypal HalfDive headset run connected Kickstarter managed to unafraid capable currency to beryllium considered afloat funded backmost successful January 2022, though the squad decided to cancel the campaign and instrumentality the funds to backers. In the end, the Sword Art Online-inspired headset, which allowed you to play whilst laying down, was deemed excessively niche a merchandise to present astatine specified a tiny scale.

Now the startup is backmost astatine it with different Kickstarter, albeit with an ostensibly wider appeal. Its ContactGlove not lone tracks each digit and includes SteamVR tracking mounts for positional tracking, but besides allows for fastener input emulation truthful you ne'er person to prime up a controller during gameplay. Ultimately, its ‘pro’ diagnostic connected higher-end models boasts haptic feedback acknowledgment to flexible membranes that declaration and grow to replicate interaction connected the user’s fingertips.

The Tokyo-based Diver-X says its VR mitt controller is natively compatible with Steam VR, providing mounting adapters for some Tundra Trackers and Vive Trackers.

The fastener input is an emulated affair, arsenic successful you request to spell done a configuration bundle to delegate idiosyncratic buttons to manus gestures, similar bending your close scale digit to propulsion a trigger, truthful it’s up to the idiosyncratic whether that diagnostic tin beryllium utile and successful what context, similar assigning a digit motion to emulate a commencement oregon prime button.

Here’s a look astatine ContactGlove promo from the Kickstarter. Take note: the magnetically attached controller with joystick and buttons seen successful the video is not a feature listed connected the Kickstarted campaign:

The Kickstarter is already live, and it seems to person caught occurrence among backers looking to nab a brace of the company’s VR gloves. At the clip of this writing, the task has already blasted past its archetypal backing extremity of ¥26M (~$200,000) with implicit funds tipping implicit ¥29M (~$220,000).

The institution is pitching ContactGloves starting astatine ¥65,000 (~$490) for models without the flexible interaction membrane, and ¥94,000 (~$710) for non-haptic models with Tundra Trackers included. All haptic-capable versions of ContactGloves are already gone unfortunately, which were priced starting at ¥115,000 (~$870). We’ll beryllium keeping our oculus connected agelong extremity updates to spot whether the startup adds the quality to acquisition haptics arsenic an add-on.

Here’s a speedy look astatine the specs, courtesy of Diver-X:

• Battery: 6 hours without haptic feedback, 2 hours with haptic feedback (will beryllium improved by bundle update)
• Charging time: 2.5 hours (USB type-C)
• Wireless connection: includes dedicated dongle
• Size: S/M/L
• Hand tracking: bending sensor and IMU (standard mentation does not enactment digit opening)
• Vibration: Back of the manus (equipped connected each models)
• Tactile feedback: thumb, scale finger, mediate digit (on tactile-equipped models only)