There are OWO sleeves, and then this new full-hand, electro-tactile feedback system for VR applications. Developed by researchers at the University of Chicago’s Human Computer Integration Lab, this wearable system attaches to the back of a user’s hand and it can produce tactile sensations across the bottom without any gloves or additional hardware.
It works by sending electrical signals through the tissues of your hand, but the sensations are felt more in the front due to there being 60-times more receptors compared to the back. By targeting 11 different points in the hand, the researchers were able to recreate the feeling of touching objects in virtual reality, whether it be a button, rope, wall, etc.
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While you see a lot of VR in the video, with this new level of hands-free haptics, we think we can unleash new use cases for haptics that go beyond VR/AR. For instance, we think haptics could be used in learning applications (while playing piano or drums, for example) or even while engaged in complex interactions,” said Pedro Lopes, Head of Human Computer Integration Lab at the University of Chicago to IEEE Spectrum.
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