Haptics
Prototype VR Controller Dynamically Distributes Weight to Fit Virtual Objects
There's no doubt about it; weilding a real controller that matches the weight and feel of a virtual object is far more immersive than having a disconnect between the two. The problem, of course, is that if a controller...
Grabbing Virtual Objects with the HaptX Glove (Formerly AxonVR)
The HaptX Glove that was shown at Sundance was one of the most convincing haptics experiences that I've had in VR. While it was still primitive, I was able to grab a virtual object in VR, and for the...
Hands-on: Tactical Haptics’ New Controllers Let You Switch Your Grip on the Fly
This week at CES 2018, Tactical Haptics debuted a new prototype of their haptic VR controller which allows the devices to attach and detach on the fly in several different poses for different types of gameplay. The controllers are being...
Tactical Haptics’ New Prototype VR Controller Shapeshifts to Fit Your Game
Tactical Haptics’ newly developed haptic controller prototype uses mechanical sockets that allow them to be mated in different configurations on-the-fly, in order to match a particular virtual interaction more closely than standard VR motion controllers. The controllers incorporate the...
Hardlight VR Haptic Vest Gets Significant Price Cut, Torso & Arm Tracking Demonstrated
Road to VR recently visited Hardlight VR’s downtown Seattle office to take a look at the new Mark III version of their haptic vest. During the visit, Hardlight VR revealed a dramatically lower price point of $300. This is...
Go Touch VR Raises $1 Million for Haptic VR Tech, Shows off DK1 Design
Go Touch VR, which is developing a simple haptic device that's surprisingly effective, has raised €837,000 (approx. $1 million) in venture capital for ongoing development. The company has offered a look at the latest version of the VRTouch DK1 dev...
‘Justice League’ IMAX VR Experience to Debut Haptic VR Controller from Tactical Haptics
The new IMAX VR Centres aim to fuse the best arcade VR games with the best peripherals, for an experience you can't get from your home VR headset. For the new (and awkwardly named) Justice League: An IMAX VR...
Hands-on: HaptX Glove Delivers Impressively Detailed Micro-pneumatic Haptics, Force Feedback
The company formerly known as AxonVR, which has raised more than $5 million in venture capital, is rebranding to HaptX, and revealing a feature prototype of a VR glove which uses micro-pneumatics for detailed haptics and force feedback to...
‘Haptic Shape Illusion’ Allows VR Controllers to Simulate Feel of Physically Larger Objects
In a study lead by Eisuke Fujinawa at the University of Tokyo, a team of students created a procedure for designing compact VR controllers that feel physically larger. Exploring the concept of ‘haptic shape illusion’, the controllers have data-driven,...
bHaptics’ TactSuit Promises Better Actuator-Based Haptics at a Lower Price-Point
Gamescom is one of the few truly gargantuan expos dedicated to gaming, holding within its massive Zeppelin hanger-sized halls all manner of ostentatious booth featuring all the big names in gaming. But it's not all glitz, cosplay, and long...
Oculus Details ‘Buffered Haptics’ for Advanced Haptics on Touch Controllers
Oculus has added new documentation to their developer knowledge base detailing the 'buffered haptics' feature of the Oculus SDK, a method for programming more advanced haptic feedback from the company's Touch controllers.
Oculus Touch uses linear actuators to provide feedback,...
This Flexible Thermoelectric Skin Has Made Me a Believer in Thermal Haptics for VR
Korea-based TEGway is developing ThermoReal, a thermoelectric array which can generate heat and cold with impressively low latency. The flexible nature of ThermoReal could make it suitable for integration into VR controllers, gloves, and more.
I've tried a few different...
AxonVR is Building a Generalized Haptic Display
AxonVR was awarded US Patent No. 9,652,037 of a "whole-body human-computer interface" on May 16th, which includes an external exoskeleton as well as a generalized haptic display made out of microfluidic technology. I had a chance to demo AxonVR's...
This Pulsating ‘Haptic Skin’ is Somewhat Creepy, Mostly Awesome
Omnipulse is a new haptic technology out of Cornell's Organic Robotics Lab which uses an array of embedded pneumatic actuators to create haptic feedback which feels quite 'organic' compared to the more 'mechanical' of many other haptic technologies out there....
VRgluv Force-feedback Glove Blasts Past $100K Kickstarter Goal in 56 Hours
VRgluv has blown past its $100,000 funding goal in 56 hours on their Kickstarter page, with 27 days still to go. The product is described as the “first affordable force feedback gloves” that feature “total hand tracking, full force...
