Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a new type of haptic glove that promises to enhance users’ sense of touch in a virtual reality (VR) environment, providing a much more realistic experience within the metaverse.
According to the engineers involved in the project, the gadget named HaptGlove is relatively small, light and does not have any type of cable or ties, providing the user with skin and movement stimuli during interaction with digital objects in real time.
“The concept of haptic gloves is not new, but current technologies are not capable of providing a realistic touch sensation. Vibration motors and conventional pneumatic actuators cannot replicate characteristics such as hardness and shape in the real world,” explains Professor Lim Chwee Teck, lead author of the study.
HaptGlove
The HaptGlove incorporates a much lighter pneumatic control, based on recent microfluidic sensing technology developed by the team, which promises to significantly reduce glove size and weight, without the need for bulky accessories to function.
The equipment has five pairs of haptic feedback modules, one for each finger of the user’s hand. These adaptive and responsive modules are wirelessly controlled and can detect a virtual reality object according to its size, shape and rigidity.
“When a user puts on HaptGlove, they can feel the contact when the avatar’s hand touches, grips and manipulates a VR object. This happens thanks to a microfluidic pneumatic penetrator that delivers pressure to your fingertips. The glove also simulates the shape and rigidity of the object, restricting the positions of the user’s fingers to add realism to the virtual interaction”, adds Teck.
Real touch sensation in the metaverse
Utilizing software developed by the University of Singapore team itself, HaptGlove achieves a haptic-visual delay of less than 20 milliseconds—much faster than conventional VR gloves—providing a near real-time touch experience.
Another advantage of the new sensory glove is the weight of the equipment. In addition to being much more comfortable to use, it only weighs 250 grams. According to engineers, a commercially available haptic device weighs around 450 grams or more.
“In addition to games, HaptGlove has useful applications in the fields of medicine and education, such as helping surgeons better prepare for an operation by simulating a realistic environment, or providing students with a hands-on learning experience by emulating touching different parts of the body. ”, concludes Professor Lim Chwee Teck.
Source: naked
