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Haptic feedback has been around for a long time, but while at AWE this year I had the pleasure of being one of the first to experience new multiuser haptics developed by HaptX (full video below).
Last year, wearable haptics from OWO gave me my first virtual stab wound, so I was intrigued to swing by the booth to catch up with my friend Linda Jacobson, XR industry veteran (she was the world’s first VR Evangelist), and Marketing Director for HaptX, to try their new demo.
I know that if Linda is involved it’s going to be good, but I had never tried a multiuser haptic experience before quite like this and was eager to be among the first to try the HaptX G1 Glove in a multiuser experience. The demo was explained to me as a face-off between myself and Liz Hyman, CEO of the XR Association, to compete in a tower-building game (aka JENGA). One of those games where the last man standing wins.
But, to my surprise, Instead of trying to compete with my new opponent, the haptics helped us to collaborate instead – every brick we moved was a shared tactile experience. There were still some issues with tracking, but that had more to do with the demo happening on the AWE show floor, than what I imagine the experience would have been like in a dedicated space.
The possibilities for work and collaboration, gaming, and especially training are vast. Tricia Blake of XR Women got to experience the magic of the HaptX system as well, running through the single-user experience. Prior to getting in, all of us had the lengths of our hands measured (including nails), and a few other quick calibrations to customize the experience to fit us.
The G1 gloves are currently in pre-order status, and with the Airpack subscription ($495/month) + 1 pair of gloves at $5,495 this is definitely geared toward an enterprise use case.
Check out the full video and let us know your thoughts! Lastly, this is the first video in the new AWE Discoveries series on the Hopscotch Interactive YouTube channel.
AR Insider’s Editor-at-Large Emily Olman is an XR community builder, roving journalist, and CEO & Chief Media Officer of Hopscotch Interactive.
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