Skip to main content

Crazy VR accessory simulates touch by turning users into living marionettes

The big challenge with making virtual reality feel real is that it’s still not particularly easy to convincingly replicate the sensation of being able to reach out and touch something. Anyone who has ever reached out and, say, touched a wall knows full well that it’s not the same feeling as a small handheld controller vibrating in your hand. Similarly, haptic VR gloves can accurately simulate something like grasping a soda can, but can’t adequately simulate touching a hard flat surface.

Recommended Videos

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s ever-impressive Future Interfaces Group have come up with an intriguing alternative, however. While it’s still very much an elaborate prototype, their wearable device manages to compellingly allow users to feel the surface of objects — whether that’s the bumps in a sculpture, the flatness of a wall, the curves of a railing, or any other tactile surface. Albeit in a way that looks totally different to just about any VR accessory we’ve seen before!

“[Wireality works] by running thin strings down from the shoulder to each joint on your hand,” Chris Harrison, head of the Future Interfaces Group, told Digital Trends. “These strings are controlled by what are essentially little fishing reels which can be controlled by a computer. As you reach out into open space in VR, the strings are free to unwind. But if you collide your fingers with an object, it locks the corresponding strings for those joints. The strings can all be triggered at different times so that your hand can cup complex shapes, providing a high degree of touch realism.”

Wireality 1
Carnegie Mellon Future Interfaces Group

Next to the kinds of controllers found on high-end VR setups, Wireality might look pretty complex. But Harrison said that the focus was on making a compelling solution that was both simple and low-cost (it costs only around $50). Systems for providing realistic feedback for applications like telesurgery are great for what they’re being asked to do, but they’re designed for one purpose and are unlikely to ever be accessible to average VR users.

“We gave [ourselves] a budget of $50, and stipulated our design had to be light enough to wear and energy-efficient enough to run on batteries,” Harrison said. “Those combination of factors made it a fun design challenge, led by Cathy Fang, a senior at CMU in mechanical Engineering. A secondary challenge was building a mechanism that was fast and strong enough to survive the strength of the arms. Arms are surprisingly strong, especially when you are trying to build something out of plastic.”

The work was originally due to be presented at this week’s ACM Computer-Human Interaction (CHI) conference, although it was canceled due to COVID-19. A peer-reviewed paper describing the work is available to read online.

Luke Dormehl
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
Ford ships new NACS adapters to EV customers
Ford EVs at a Tesla Supercharger station.

Thanks to a Tesla-provided adapter, owners of Ford electric vehicles were among the first non-Tesla drivers to get access to the SuperCharger network in the U.S.

Yet, amid slowing supply from Tesla, Ford is now turning to Lectron, an EV accessories supplier, to provide these North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapters, according to InsideEVs.

Read more
Agatha All Along creator wrote multiple post-credits scenes for the Marvel series that weren’t used
Kathryn Hahn stands next to Joe Locke in Agatha All Along.

Agatha All Along is one of the most widely liked titles that Marvel Studios has released in, well, a while. The WandaVision spinoff premiered in late September and did a lot to win over even some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's more skeptical fans across its nine episodes. While Agatha All Along does set up some exciting future possibilities for several of its characters, though, its finale doesn't include a single post-credits scene.

According to Agatha All Along creator Jac Schaeffer, that isn't because she didn't have any ideas for one. When asked about the series' lack of a post-credits tag, Schaeffer told Variety, "That’s a Marvel decision. I know nothing more than that." The writer and showrunner went on to reveal that she actually wrote multiple potential post-credits scenes for Agatha All Along, none of which were ultimately used because of behind-the-scenes decision-making by Marvel.

Read more
Yamaha offers sales of 60% on e-bikes as it pulls out of U.S. market
Yamaha Pedal Assist ebikes

If you were looking for clues that the post-pandemic e-bike market reshuffle remains in full swing in the U.S., look no further than the latest move by Yamaha.

In a letter to its dealers, the giant Japanese conglomerate announced it will pull out of the e-bike business in the U.S. by the end of the year, according to Electrek.

Read more