This wearable device lets you feel virtual reality

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Impacto is an Arduino-driven device designed to render the haptic sensation of hitting and being hit in virtual reality.

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Virtual reality has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, and is poised to become the next big thing in gaming. Even with major brands like Oculus and Samsung helping lead the charge to a more immersive experience, there’s still one thing missing though: haptic feedback. In other words, being able to feel what is happening as if you’re actually there inside the augmented world.

That may soon change, however, thanks to researchers from Hasso Plattner Institute’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab. The team has developed working prototypes of a device they call Impacto, which is capable of rendering the sensation of hitting and being hit through tactile and electrical muscle simulation.

Impacto is integrated into a wireless band that can be worn around the arm, leg or foot of a virtual reality user, and when combined with a VR headset and custom software, simulates contact on the wearer so that they can actually touch virtual objects or feel if they’ve been struck.

To demonstrate the system, the team selected various VR sports games, including boxing and soccer. All the examples employed an Impacto for haptic feedback, an Oculus Rift for visuals and a Kinect for tracking. While boxing, the user sported the gadget around the bicep along wit  an additional solenoid unit mounted to the back of the hand. This allowed the participant to actually experience the impact of jabs, blows and blocks from the virtual opponent. In the other use case, the Impacto was thrown around the user’s calves enabling him to juggle an imaginary soccer ball with his foot.

“The key idea that allows the small Impacto device to simulate a strong hit is that it decomposes the stimulus. It renders the tactile aspect of being hit by tapping the skin using a solenoid; it adds impulse to the hit by thrusting the user’s arm backwards using electrical muscle stimulation. Both technologies are small enough for wearable use,” the team of Pedro Lopes, Alexandra Ion and Patrick Baudisch explained in their research paper.

As for its hardware, Impacto is equipped with an Arduino Pro Micro (ATmega32U4), a Bluetooth module, an EMS unit, a solenoid, electrodes and batteries. The MCU and EMS are both powered through a 9V regulator, while the solenoid is driven directly from the 22.2V battery. Optionally, the solenoid power can be regulated down to 20V via another adjustable voltage regulator.

Intrigued? Watch the project in action below, or read all about it in its official paper here.

This wearable device lets you touch your virtual reality world

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UnlimitedHand is the world’s first video game controller with newly-developed haptic feedback technology.

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It’s safe to say that virtual reality has grown leaps and bounds in recent years; however, despite these advancements, one thing that has been lacking was an interface that actually let you ’touch’ the VR world. This is exactly what one Tokyo-based startup set out to develop.

The team over at H2L has created what they’re calling the world’s first video game controller that enables you to feel things as if they existed in your real environment. UnlimitedHand is essentially a haptic sensor that goes around your arm and syncs with your hand to interact with onscreen objects.

Through Bluetooth, the wearable contraption delivers your finger and arm movements to the game while receiving data back that is felt in the form of haptic feedback. In other words, you will be able to grab, push, throw, hit and manipulate your digital surroundings as if you were really there.

The device, which straps around your forearm like an Ace bandage, is equipped with a muscle sensor, a 3D motion sensor, a multi-channel electronic muscle stimulator (EMS) and a vibration motor. The embedded motion and muscle sensors are tasked with recognizing user input, just like any other haptic gadget. UnlimitedHand then stimulates your muscles through EMS, controlling your fingers and hands while mirroring what’s happening in the game. By integrating this technology into the accessory, you will be able to ‘feel’ whatever your character experiences.

What will surely be appealing to developers, UnlimitedHand has made it easy to integrate with existing games through Unity plug-ins. Furthermore, its circuit is also Arduino-compatible, allowing Makers to hack it for a wide range of other applications. Whether it’s feeling the strings of a virtual guitar as it’s being played or commanding a robotic arm, the possibilities are endless. Intrigued? Head over to its Kickstarter campaign, which has already garnered well over its asking goal of $20,000. Units are expected to begin shipping in March 2016

These smart gloves will actually let you feel virtual reality

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Gloveone is a pair of embedded gloves that lets you feel your way around the virtual reality world.

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The relationship between video gamers and gloves hasn’t been all too dandy to say the least. Remember the Nintendo Power Glove from the early ‘90s? The accessory had been designed to provide players with buttons conveniently located on their forearm. Along with the wearable controller, the user was able to perform various hand motions to command a character on-screen. Unfortunately, the trend never really caught on.

Fast forward 25 years, video games have come a long way. Not just with their killer graphics, but more immersive experiences than ever before thanks to virtual reality. Cognizant of this, one Miami-based startup has set out to create a pair of gloves that works alongside a VR headset to offer users a sense of texture and depth. And with the emergence of industry heavyweights like Oculus, Google, Samsung and HTC each debuting simulated googles of their own, this innovation couldn’t have come at a better time.

Surely more exciting than Nintendo’s ill-fated attempt at a body-adorned gaming device, the aptly named Gloveone slips onto a person’s hands while sensation and texture are created through a series of complex vibrations. The wearable, which is based on an ATmega32U4 MCU, features 10 actuators on each fingertip and the palm that translates touch into haptic feedback at various frequencies, times and intensities to accurately reproduce sensations in the VR world.

What’s more, the device is embedded with IMU sensors to track and mimic movement on-screen in a natural manner, a Li-Po battery for four hours worth of power, a microUSB for low-latency mode via cable, Bluetooth for wireless communication (meaning no getting tangled up in wires), and those who work up a sweat during gameplay can take comfort in knowing that the gloves are comprised of breathable and anti-bacterial fabric.

The gadget enables users to perceive texture, sense sound and temperature, as well as distinguish between weight of objects. In other words, this means a wearer can feel heat from touching a fire burning in a game, a raindrop falling from the virtual sky or even tell if one augmented item is heavier than another. Beyond that, four sensors located in the palm, thumb, index and middle fingers communicate with one another, allowing a user to shoot a cannon, grab a flower petal or simply control the main menu. Unlike other gesture recognition systems, contact-triggered commands do not suffer from false positives or negatives, which can often times be very frustrating for users.

Aside from enhancing the gaming industry, Gloveone could surely play an integral role in bringing sci-fi-like technology into the healthcare setting by assisting those with impaired mobility to re-learn movements such as picking up and holding an item or even walking.

Currently available in three sizes (XS-S, M-L, XL-XXL), the system does rely upon auxiliary sensors like Leap Motion or Intel RealSense to track a user’s hands. However, it can also work with other tech including Microsoft Kinect and OpenCV. Sound like something you’d like to use? Head over to its official Kickstarter campaign, where the NeuroDigital Technologies crew is seeking $150,000. Delivery is slated for February 2016.