A company in America has produced a VR system that can simulate touch. The HaptX Platform from AxonVR, includes a haptic textile that delivers tactile, vibration, and thermal haptic feedback.The lightweight, flexible material is being aimed at professional rather than consumer use, and has possible applications in location-based entertainment, training and simulation, and design and manufacturing.
HaptX's haptic system uses actuators to put pressure on different points of the skin, changing temperature as they do so.
AxonVR's prototype is a flat array of actuators attached to a box the user slides his/her hand in (palm side updwards) to use. When the user puts on a HTC Vive VR headset they see their hand and a series of items - apple, deer, spider etc. Using your free hand you drag objects onto your palm using your Vive controller, when one is dropped onto your palm the system presses down on your skin to match the object. The corner of a small block will poke at a specific point. When the deer lands on your palm you can feel its hooves, when you rub snow onto your palm it feels cold, or drag a heated block it feels warm etc.
AxonVR recently secured the largest ever funding round for haptics in virtual reality ($5.8M) to help it develop the product.
“HaptX delivers very realistic touch sensations, and will enable a new class of experiences in VR,” said Zvi Greenstein, General Manager of Consumer VR at NVIDIA Corporation.