As companies continue to solve virtual reality’s biggest hardware and software challenges, many researchers have been working on next-generation VR peripherals that will enable users to “feel” digital objects.
Now, a Carnegie Mellon University team announced a new option: a wearable multi-string haptic system that enables users to sense large obstacles, providing a sense of resistance when reaching out to touch objects.
The prototype implementation of “Wireality” relies on a shoulder-mounted lock-and-release device to manage a collection of seven strings attached to the wearer’s fingertips, knuckles, and wrist. Working together, the spring-loaded strings are precisely locked and released in ways that let an outstretched palm feel resistance from walls, curved objects such as railings, and irregular surfaces — fundamentally different from prior approaches that simulate fine textures or rubbery, squishy objects.