VR gloves

Virtual Reality (VR) has developed to such an extent that it is almost indistinguishable from reality. However, the sensation of touch is still missing to make it completely lifelike. Fortunately, there are many developers in the market working on this.

The SenseGlove Nova is perhaps the best-known and most popular haptic glove at the moment. The originally Dutch company has developed sturdy gloves for use with VR training. The SenseGlove Nova allows users to actually feel virtual objects. The robust force-feedback system provides 20 Newtons of resistance within 10 ms. This means the force-feedback gives a realistic representation of how virtual objects feel in the real world. SenseGlove's advanced technology ensures that clicking and pressing buttons feels very realistic. This is particularly useful when the gloves are used with VR training that involves a dashboard or other tools requiring the user to press buttons. With the use of different mounts, the SenseGlove Nova is compatible with a wide range of virtual reality-brillen, such as the HTC VIVE Pro 2, Meta Quest 2, and Pico Neo 3 Pro. The SenseGlove Nova is already widely used for training in large companies, such asVolkswagen.

The Manus Prime is a slightly lighter haptic glove than the SenseGlove Nova. This glove is specially developed for virtual reality-trainingen. With the Manus Prime gloves, users can grab and -houden digital objects, feel different textures, and press buttons and pull levers in a realistic way. The haptic glove ensures that users are even more immersed in the virtual world. Each finger of the glove has a haptic module that ensures each finger can be individually controlled. The Manus Prime gloves are compatible with most industry-standard software platforms, such as Unreal Engine and Unity. This makes it possible for developers to create an application or VR training in a relatively easy way and to use the Manus Prime gloves. View a video here of the Manus Prime gloves being used in aSkoda demo.

The HaptX Gloves look like a full robotic arm at first glance. The glove is an exoskeleton that goes over the user's hand and wrist. Because the construction of this glove is larger than comparable VR gloves, more haptic motors can be integrated. HaptX sacrifices compactness and ease of use but provides a more realistic haptic experience in return. The HaptX glove is still lightweight and delivers a whopping 175 Newtons of pressure per hand. This is almost double that of comparable VR gloves with haptic feedback. Additionally, the motion-capture system is built into the HaptX gloves. These track the gloves with 30 degrees per hand, up to 1 millimetre accurately and without noticeable delays. Perhaps the most famous demo of the HaptX gloves was when Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon) wore the gloves to move arobotic arm.

The Teslasuit gloves are an addition to the Teslasuit. This suit is a haptic suit that can be used for motion capture. Unique to the Teslasuit is that it can also collect biometric data. This makes the Teslasuit particularly suitable for research and other applications where data-analyse is important. The Teslasuit gloves are a complement to this suit. The gloves have a lightweight design and form an exoskeleton around the user's hands. When the user picks up something in the virtual environment, the glove provides slight resistance, making it seem as if the virtual object is also physically picked up by the user. The Teslasuit gloves can be used in combination with the Teslasuit and can be connected to an HTC VIVE-tracker.

The TactGlove from bHaptics is, at the time of writing, not yet released (expected at the end of 2022), but promises to be a good haptic VR glove. Unique to the TactGlove is that it is not so much intended for the business market and realistic VR training, but can also be used by consumers. While many haptic and VR gloves are development kits (meaning there are few to no standard applications available for them), bHaptics products allow this out-of-the-box to be used with various games. The TactGlove looks like a normal black glove. But in the fingertips, a haptic point is built in that can vibrate to simulate the haptic feedback. The TactGlove can be combined with other bHaptics products, making it possible to bring the user's entire body into the virtual world.

The WEART is not so much a glove but places various sensors on the fingertips. Via a magnetic connector, the WEART motor can be placed on the user's wrists. A tracker or controller can then be attached to this, allowing the gloves to be tracked accurately. Unique to the WEART-handschoenen is the fact that, besides being able to pick something up in the virtual world, the gloves also provide temperature feedback. The fingertips can feel cold or warm, depending on what the user touches in the virtual world. For example, are you touching a metal plate? Then the fingertips feel cold, giving the user the impression of touching metal. But are you working in a VR training and hot steam is blowing somewhere? Then be careful because the user will genuinely feel the fingertips get warm (fortunately, the built-in temperatuur-sensoren can never get so warm that the fingertips are burnt).

After reading this blog, are you excited about VR gloves? Or do you want to try them out? Contact us! We are happy to help you find the perfect solution for a haptic VR experience. In our showroom, we have a wide range of different VR headsets and haptic solutions to try out.