Revolutionizing Haptic Feedback in Virtual Reality
The Need for More Immersive Experiences
Today’s virtual reality games and content could be pretty immersive, but they largely miss the mark in terms of haptic feedback. Wouldn’t it’s cool to ‘feel’ a textured object, or perceive the feeling of running your hand over wealthy fabric in VR? This is what researchers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, are hoping to attain with their recent wearable device.
Introducing the New Wearable
The device is a light-weight, in regards to the size of your fingertip, and may go far beyond simply vibrating against your skin to deliver richer haptics using more sophisticated technology. "Almost all haptic actuators really just poke on the skin," said John A. Rogers, a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering on the university who led the device design. "But skin is receptive to far more sophisticated senses of touch. We built a tiny actuator that may push the skin in any direction and in any combination of directions. With it, we are able to finely control the complex sensation of touch in a totally programmable way."
How it Works
This wearable uses a sophisticated actuator that may move in any direction to deliver way more realistic haptic feedback than a vibrating motor. The actuator combines with full freedom of motion, Bluetooth connectivity, an accelerometer, and a tiny battery to simulate a spread of sensations, including vibrations, stretching, pressure, sliding, and twisting. It may mix sensations and operate at different speeds.
The Technology Behind it
The actuator can move in any direction along the skin, to have interaction many mechanoreceptors without delay, and it could be arranged in arrays to provide a wider range of tactile sensations. It seems like an easy contraption, and perhaps that is what makes it pretty cool. A tiny magnet is attached to wire coils which might be connected to a battery. When electricity flows through the coils, a magnetic field is generated, and that moves, pushes, pulls, or twists the magnet. When combined in an array, these actuators can reproduce different sensations.
Potential Applications
Depending on where the haptic is mounted – say, on the back of your hand or on a fingertip – the onboard accelerometer delivers information to the system about whether you are moving quickly or slowly, and wherein direction. This could make for more realistic motion tracking. This technology could also help individuals with visual impairments experience immersive types of media, and navigate their surroundings.
Conclusion
The recent wearable device from Northwestern University is a major step forward in revolutionizing haptic feedback in virtual reality. With its ability to simulate a spread of sensations, including vibrations, stretching, pressure, sliding, and twisting, it has the potential to create more immersive experiences for users. Additionally, its potential applications, corresponding to helping individuals with visual impairments, make it an exciting development in the sphere of haptic feedback.
