Meta introduces prototype haptic gloves to the virtual tactile world

This Tuesday, November 16, 2021, the company Meta Universe Meta (formerly Facebook) unveiled the model of AR / VR haptic gloves. Shawn Keller, Director of Reality Labs, explains: “Without training, people can feel the touch of real objects with their hands and handle virtual objects with their hands, the same as in the real world,” said Shawn Keller. , director of Reality Laboratories.

The Meta Tactile prototype consists of around 15 raised plastic cushions and is a small plastic, also known as actuators. These cushions are placed on the palm of the wearer's hand, at the base of the finger and at the fingertip. These gloves also serve as a VR controller. There is a little white mark on the back so the camera can track how your finger moves in space. It also has an internal sensor that detects how the wearer's fingers are bent.

When you put on the gloves and enter the VR or AR environment, the control system effectively adjusts the level of gain to be applied to more areas of your hands. When you touch a virtual object with your fingertips, you will feel the object press against your skin. When you grab a virtual object, the long finger push rods harden, creating a defense. These thoughts work in conjunction with sight and hearing to create a feeling of physical contact.

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standing on the shoulders of giants

The controls used in the prototype Meta Tactile gloves are borrowed from new software robotics, replacing large motors with small gases.

In fact, Mehta's haptic glove prototype project predates the use of software robotic technology. Meta has been working on this (touch joint) almost all the time since launching its Oculus VR in 2014, and in 2015 developed the first fingerprint model with an actuator.

Forte Data Gloves, Touch Finger Coats are a little easier than that.

Michael Abrash, Director of Reality Lab, says: “One of the most common experiences is seeing a virtual plate in a VR headset. and the sound of raw ceramics. I heard scratching the plate and my yacht tactile fingers. my fingers to scrape the ceramic plate. "

In fact, analog touch isn't the only new concept. Virtual reality and simple features like controller vibration can be combined to create a more tactile feel. Many companies use portable devices that follow the user's hand or provide tactile thinking, and use thermometers. .

For example, at CES 2018, BeBop Sensor unveiled its first Forte Data glove. These high-end gloves would be compatible with Oculus Quest smart fabric controllers, a combination of BeBop handheld technology and Quest's 3D search technology, both adult output technology and the SDK of the BeBop sensor. Strength, position, size, weight, flexion, torsion and many other sizes, resolutions and geometries are encountered in VR to simulate tactile sensitivity in virtual space. But other than a few simple vibrations, the Forte Data gloves still don't have the recommended feel.

Meta's main goal is to bring touch gloves to market on a large scale, but vibrating fingercoats are just the start. Meta is, on the one hand, designed by consumers who focus on the Quest VR system, while investing thousands of dollars to create a "meta universe" that integrates VR and AR. The promotion of haptic gloves is essential. Meta edge mix.

Reality Lab believes touchscreen gloves look like mice and switches and may change the way VR / AR glasses interact with headsets in the future. In response, Meta also acquired CTRL-Lab, the company's EMG glove business in 2019, and requested a robust electromyography or EMG-based drug that can read the arm's signal arteries and turn into digital ideas. After seven years of running away, thanks to the expertise and research of Reality Lab, the model of tactile gloves is finally out.

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The road to success is long and difficult.

However, there are still many problems in developing tactile gloves that can be used by users.

Meanwhile, the team hopes to increase the speed of armored actuators by tens to hundreds or thousands of years within a few years. "Gloves can now make you aware of the properties of the product, but they can't give you a better idea of ​​the place, but you have to trust the sound and Reality Labs engineer Katherine Healy (Katherine Healy) has Said, “You want the high pressure dog training to work well, but this glove isn't.

Meanwhile, the touchscreen gloves are now still very big. The meta haptic glove model is a bit smaller than the Nintendo Power Glove from the 90s, but that doesn't mean much. “The devices have to be light enough to feel that people can interact with the real and virtual worlds,” Healy said.

While the above two issues aren't the primary issues, the biggest challenge Reality Labs faces is how to get touchscreen gloves to exactly fit skin-wearing people. It will require different buyers to create different models, for example, techniques like 3D knitting can be done from models of different sizes. Then there are practical issues, like how to wash high-tech gloves. Now you need to wipe it off thoroughly with alcohol. "For ordinary clothes, we want to be able to wash them. We want to make gloves that can be washed. We don't know how to wash them, but that's part of our vision."

The first is the issue of level of manufacture, and when these gloves hit the market, they will face the same privacy and security issues as other wearable devices that collect biometric paper. Abrash is similar to using technologies like EMG bracelets for keyboard ideas, which are rarely described as potentially threatening. However, the use of urine technology can accurately identify a person's body movements and predict the onset of infections such as Parkinson's disease, even with simple typing patterns. Meta should establish rules governing how much of this information is communicated to the user and who can access it. However, given Facebook's bad behavior, we don't believe Abrash's comments.

In general, those touchscreen gloves by the meta still look pretty good. It's not just a meta conquest, it's not just a world conquest, but also a new build achievement.