HaptX Gloves

The HaptX Gloves Development Kit is an industrial-grade tool, specifically designed for enterprise VR applications including training, simulation, design, and visualization.

Haptic gloves, in layman’s terms, is a glove that simulates a sense of touch for virtual reality environments.

The Cambridge AR/VR Society recently had the amazing opportunity to meet with the developers, who were staying briefly in London, to try out their new gear.

The demo we attempted as a simulation of a floating farm, complete with farm animals, a giant spider, a windmill, crops, and of course–invading UFOs.

The HaptX Haptic gloves were incredibly sensitive and inspired a realistic sensation of touch. I experienced no time lag between the VR headset, my own actions, and the glove itself. When I placed the spider onto the palm of my hand, I was both delighted and slightly horrified to discover I could feel each of its individual legs creeping across my skin.

Moreover, due to the bulb-like points of feedback the developers used, touch seemed to be based on a sense of pressure rather than a ‘tug’ of the skin. This meant that when I attempted to squeeze an object between my fingers, it truly felt as though I was holding something within them as opposed to being ‘prevented’ from closing my hand.

The gloves have created a new tier of immersion within virtual reality worlds, and I for one am excited to see this tool in widespread practical application.