Wish to live the sci-fi experience? Meta gloves to soon let you feel VR objects as if they're real

Wish to live the sci-fi experience? Meta gloves to soon let you feel VR objects as if they're real

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Wednesday, November 17, 2021, 04:50 PM IST
article-image
Twitter

Meta (formerly Facebook) is developing sci-fi haptic gloves that can reproduce a range of sensations in virtual worlds, including texture, pressure and vibration, using air pockets.

The team is building advanced hand-tracking technology to enable it to identify precisely where your hand is in a virtual scene, whether you're in contact with a virtual object and how your hand is interacting with the object.

"Even with a way to control air flow, the system needs to know when and where to deliver the right sensations," Meta said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The company is also developing the world's first high-speed microfluidic processor - a small microfluidic chip that controls the air flow that moves the actuators.

"The use of air (a fluid) means we can fit many more actuators on the glove than would otherwise be possible with electronic circuitry," Meta added.

While the research is still in early stages, the goal is to one day pair the gloves with your VR headset for an immersive experience like playing in a concert or poker game in the metaverse, and eventually they'd work with your AR glasses.

Imagine working on a virtual 3D puzzle with a friend's realistic 3D avatar. As you pick up a virtual puzzle piece from the table, your fingers automatically stop moving as you feel it within your grasp.

"You feel the sharpness of the cardboard's edges and the smoothness of its surface as you hold it up for closer inspection, followed by a satisfying snap as you fit it into place," Meta said.

Building these gloves is a challenge that requires inventing entirely new domains of scientific research.

Existing mechanical actuators create too much heat for such a glove to be worn comfortably all day.

To solve this, Meta is creating new soft actuators - tiny, soft motors all over the glove that move in concert to deliver sensation to the wearer's hand.

"Our haptic renderer sends precise instructions to the actuators on the hand, based on an understanding of things like the hand's location and properties of the virtual objects (such as texture, weight and stiffness) that the hand comes in contact with," the company elaborated.

(With inputs from IANS)

RECENT STORIES

Bizarre! Chicken Clash In Nalgonda: Elderly Woman Demands Justice After Neighbour Attacks & Injures...

Bizarre! Chicken Clash In Nalgonda: Elderly Woman Demands Justice After Neighbour Attacks & Injures...

WATCH: MP CM Mohan Yadav Visits Sandipani Ashram On Guru Purnima, Recalls Krishna’s Legacy Of...

WATCH: MP CM Mohan Yadav Visits Sandipani Ashram On Guru Purnima, Recalls Krishna’s Legacy Of...

BIZARRE! Drunk Man Drives Car On Gwalior Station Platform To 'Race' Against Train; Was Heartbroken...

BIZARRE! Drunk Man Drives Car On Gwalior Station Platform To 'Race' Against Train; Was Heartbroken...

Guru Purnima 2025: Nearly 1.5 Lakh Devotees Gather At Pandit Dhirendra Shastri's Bageshwar Dham

Guru Purnima 2025: Nearly 1.5 Lakh Devotees Gather At Pandit Dhirendra Shastri's Bageshwar Dham

Indian Origin Man Faces Unresonable Racism By American Citizen, Netizen Slams, 'Absolutely shameful'

Indian Origin Man Faces Unresonable Racism By American Citizen, Netizen Slams, 'Absolutely shameful'