High-resolution virtual reality has come a long way in recent years, especially thanks to higher-resolution screens and improvements in body detection. But it’s still not perfect, and one thing that’s still needed is any kind of physical feedback other than regulators.
This week, at CES 2021 – which is being held digitally this year for obvious reasons – Korean company bHaptics introduced a wireless haptic vest that they believe VR could take the next step .
The next level of VR – The so-called TactSuit comes in two different versions. The TactSuit X16 costs $ 299 and offers 16 different shake points, while the TactSuit X40 is priced at $ 499 and offers forty shake points. BHaptics says there are already more than 50 compatible titles on SteamVR and Quest.
According to the company, the vest uses an “audio-to-haptic” software device that allows users to “feel” feedback when listening to music, watching movies, or playing a game. We haven’t been able to test it, so it’s not clear how accurate the shake maps are to action in the game.
BHaptics says the TactSuit will launch starting Feb. 8. If you want even more immersion experience, it does not come cheap. The company sells haptic face cushions for $ 149, arm sleeves for $ 249, and hand and foot cushions for $ 250 each.
Immersion – Other companies have been trying out how they can immerse gamers in VR locations. One such company, Cybershoes, tries to get over the boundaries of a player’s physical space by offering shoes with trackballs on them. Once attached to a person’s legs, they can walk around in games while sitting still in a chair.
VR headsets create a virtual end in a person’s home to warn them when they’re about to run into objects, and players who often have little space for use need to use joysticks for a lot of navigation within the game. That breaks the vision of being in a different world, however.
So far, VR has struggled to find mass adoption despite recent developments, with Facebook releasing Quest headphones that don’t require a PC connection. That company continues to invest heavily in VR, to some extent, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg aims to get billions of people using VR headsets (or mixed reality) to regular.
Products like TactSuit and Cybershoes may be a bit niche, but they could go a little further to bring us closer to realizing the full potential of VR to create new types of games and social experiences.