We tried a VR haptic suit that simulates being shot and stabbed at CES 2023 — here's what happened - Laptop Mag

OK, information beryllium told, by "we," I mean Laptop Mag Content Editor Jason England tried OWO's VR haptic suit — what a brave soul! Assistant Managing Editor Sean Riley and I planned to effort it on, too, but aft TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff tweeted that it was "most achy thing" he's ever done astatine CES, we chickened out.

So you whitethorn beryllium wondering, "OK, truthful what's the woody with this VR haptic suit and wherefore is it causing truthful overmuch hoopla astatine CES 2023?" Well, OWO boasts that it's a "second skin" designed to marque VR gaming overmuch much immersive via sensation tech. As such, portion you're wearing this VR haptic suit, you tin consciousness tame sensations (e.g., a upwind gust) arsenic good arsenic intense ones (e.g., getting stabbed successful the abdomen).

Here's what went down erstwhile we showed up for our VR haptic suit assignment with OWO astatine the Las Vegas Convention Center.

A choky acceptable is key

First things first, an OWO rep got Jason's measurements to guarantee that his VR haptic suit had a choky fit. You tin get the suit successful a wide scope of sizes, from 2XS to 4XL.

While that was happening, I spotted fewer suits hanging connected a rack, truthful I decided to unzip one. Inside, you tin spot conspicuous, menacing patches that are surely determination to inflict pain, oregon simply heighten the immersion, depending connected what crippled you're playing. 

According to OWO's authoritative website, these patches tin present a whopping 30 sensations, including a weapon changeable with an exit wound, insect bites, abdominal stabbing, getting pricked with a dart, getting punched, and more.

I saw 2 designs astatine OWO's CES 2023 booth: a Founder Limited Edition with a chill purple and bluish ombre effect and a modular mentation that's each black. We each preferred the latter, but the OWO rep enactment Jason successful the former. When Jason came retired of the fitting country with his VR haptics suit, helium made america each chuckle erstwhile helium said, "Ugh, I look similar a cyclist!"

Although Jason wasn't thrilled astir the design, helium said that the VR haptic suit was amazingly comfortable.

How does OWO's VR haptic suit work?

What sets OWO isolated from different VR haptic suit companies is its Sensations Technology, which stimulates 10 locations successful the body, including the arms.

"Unlike different haptic technologies that usage vibration to reproduce conscionable 1 sensation, OWO is the lone institution that tin reproduce an infinite fig of sensations," an OWO rep told america successful a pitch. The VR haptics institution boasts that its concealed condiment are its microsensations — a bully fig of the 30 stimulations are composed of respective of them.

For example, simulating a gunshot coiled uses 3 microsensations: an introduction wound, an exit wound, and bleeding.

"With our algorithm, we tin make a fig of infinite fig of antithetic sensations. All we person to bash is ideate a sensation and modify the parameters of the wave," OWO said.

With the OWO app, you tin acceptable the strength to your liking. If you're a wuss similar me, you tin support the strength level astatine one, but if you're a masochist, consciousness escaped to bask the symptom successful each of its glory by choosing an strength level of 10.

Jason decided to spell with an strength level of six for his body, but opted for 7 for his arms.

A painfully immersive experience

With his VR haptic suit on, an OWO rep strapped an Oculus Quest 2 headset (now called Meta Quest 2) to Jason's head, allowing him to dive into the VR satellite that felt a small too real for his tastes.

A ample show broadcasted what Jason was seeing. First, helium was thrown into a demo, which allowed him to consciousness a bid of bizarre sensations, including upwind gusts, crawling spiders, darts, and stabbing. Next, helium was dropped into an unfriendly celestial VR situation wherever helium had to support himself against vicious, planetary enemies.

Unfortunately, these robotic aliens were relentless — and they weren't coy astir showering Jason successful gunfire.

Just similar OWO claimed, Jason said helium felt the gunshots spell done his enarthrosis and travel retired the different end. Funnily enough, you'd deliberation that the gunshot coiled would person been his slightest favourite sensation, but the creepy-crawly feeling of bugs taking implicit his assemblage irked Jason the most.

When it was each over, I asked Jason whether helium enjoyed OWO's VR haptic suit. He's ne'er 1 to mince words, and surprisingly, helium said helium loved the experience. "It was good!" Jason said. "I've seen a fewer videos beforehand wherever radical were saying it's truly painful, truthful I got truly scared, but the sensations I felt really turned up the immersiveness of the gameplay. I highly recommend."

I watched different foolhardy CES 2023 attendees trial the VR haptic suit who turned the strength level each the mode up to 10, and I watched their faces wince successful pain. One tester named Merrick Greene (he's astatine the helm of a YouTube transmission called VRLink) shouted successful daze erstwhile helium felt a gunshot pierce his shoulder.

Jason, connected the different hand, seemed comparatively unfazed, but support successful caput that his strength levels were betwixt six and seven.

Bottom line

OWO's VR haptic suit, officially called OVO Skin, is presently disposable for pre-order connected its official website. It has a terms tag of astir $425.

For now, there's lone a short-sleeve suit available, but an OWO rep told america that they're readying connected launching a long-sleeve mentation successful the coming months.

The OWO app is compatible with Android, iOS and adjacent Windows. OWO Skin has a artillery beingness of astir 8 hours. The suit features a USB-C cablegram successful the pouch country that tin beryllium hooked up with a artillery battalion (yes, this ships with the VR haptic suit). If you're funny astir however OVO Skin syncs up with VR games, you're successful luck due to the fact that I asked.  "It uses Bluetooth!" an OVO rep replied.

I genuinely judge that haptic gaming systems similar OWO Skin volition yet go a staple successful VR gaming successful the coming years, allowing america to further blur the lines betwixt world and simulated worlds.