A company called VRgluv is working on a VR haptic glove with force feedback to level up the sense of immersion in virtual worlds. The idea is to add another sense to VR—touch, in this case—so that you can not only see virtual objects, but feel them as well.
The whole point of VR is immersion. Today's solutions such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are focused on sight and (to a lesser degree) audio. In decided what sense to tackle next, the VRgluv team decided touch made the most sense.
"We set out to enhance everyday life through VR, so we had to decide where to start. Whichsenses should we attack first? Vision, hearing, and touch. The current high-end headsets are ableto project a virtual world exceptionally well, and we decided that there is not currently a touch interface to match the performance of the headsets. That is why VRgluv was born," the VRgluv team explains.
The glove that is being developed features complete hand tracking, including fingers. There is also a controller attachment point on the hand that allows for full rotational wrist tracking. According to the developers, your virtual hands will always match the position and orientation of your entire hand, and will do so with "extremely high accuracy."
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As for haptic feedback, VRgluv says when you touch an object in the virtual world, it will recreate the shape in your hand. Imagine picking up a baseball and feeling it, and then letting it roll off your fingertips. This can all be experienced, the company says.
The gloves also feature force sensors in each finger to provide real-time feedback about grip strength. This allows you to feel the difference between a hard or soft object. It also means you can crush, squish, and interact with objects in more realistic ways.
VRgluv says its wearable is compatible with all of the high-end VR headsets out there, including both the Rift and Vive. The glove has an interchangeable controller so you can easily switch from one to the other, if needed.
The VRgluv is supposed to be available sometime this month, though there is no mention of price. You can sign up to receive updates via email and get a $20 coupon that you can apply when the company begins accepting preorders.
