CMU researchers high-fiving over VR advance
Virtual reality experiences feel very real for users exploring a new world through a headset. But in most cases, a user can still put a hand through a wall or float through an obstacle — a jarring reminder of reality.
A team at Carnegie Mellon University recently released a shoulder-mounted device they think will get users one step closer to being able to feel a high-five in virtual reality.
Using a combination of software that senses where the user is heading in a virtual world — a springloaded retractor like the ones found in a keychain or ID badge and strings attached to the user’s fingers, palm and wrist — the device applies pressure on the user’s hand to simulate the feel of objects, like colliding with a wall or curling your hand around a pole.
“When you run into a wall or something, you can feel the force feedback by these things, like your hand will not be able to go through. But, in the virtual world, because there’s no object, your hand will go through these boundaries,” said Cathy Fang, one of the researchers at CMU.
The researchers believe they can fool the hand, as well as the eyes.
“We can basically describe the contour of things, the difference between a flat wall or a railing, like a pole,” Ms. Fang said. “Your hand will be conformed to those surfaces. That creates the illusion that you’re touching something.”
The combination of visual and haptic feedback — and a little bit of imagination — ensures the user won’t break the “immersivity” of the experience as they navigate through a game that involves an elaborate maze or a virtual museum experience filled with sculptures, she said.
CMU’s research project, published in April, isn’t the only one of its kind. HaptX, a technology company based in Seattle, designed a pair of gloves that allows users to control their hands in a virtual environment and feel the size, weight and impact of their movements. Teslasuit, a Londonbased company, created a similar glove component for its suit that provides full body virtual and augmented reality experiences.
Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois are working on a patch placed on the skin to mimic the sense of touch in a virtual reality experience. The system could be used to communicate with family and friends long-distance, add human touch to telemedicine or incorporate sensory feedback into prosthetics.
The CMU team is still on the research level, Ms. Fang said, and does not have a timeline for when the device will be available.
CMU estimates a mass-produced version of the device, which weighs about 10 ounces, would cost less than $50.