Meta’s virtual reality research laboratory is working on developing haptic gloves that will allow metaverse users to touch digital objects as if they were physical, the company explained in a note. Those of Zuckerberg assure that these devices will allow to feel the scope of the objects, the sharpness of the edges, the smoothness of their surface or possible vibrations.
The Meta researchers stress, however, that research on their haptic gloves is at an early stage, so there is still time for them to be fully operational. The idea of its creators is that in the future they will be paired with virtual reality glasses and headphones to achieve a more immersive experience.
The Meta team explains that for the development of this glove they are applying various technologies that they have been researching in the last seven years, such as the science of perception – which combines auditory, visual and tactile stimuli to recreate the sensation of weight of a object-, soft robotics -to improve touch perception-, microfluidics, hand tracking systems and haptic representation. The latter is based on artificial intelligence to understand both the location in the hand and the characteristics of the object – texture, weight, rigidity – with which the user comes into contact.
“Over the past seven years, the team has made significant strides, from pushing the boundaries of soft robotics to developing the world’s first high-speed microfluidic processor, ” they said in the statement.
From Meta they explain that, despite the fact that this technology still seems unreal, they are optimistic about its development. Of course, they emphasize that creating a device with these characteristics takes time, so that, despite the fact that they have already worked on it for seven years, it still remains for the haptic glove to reach the consumer.