Meta unveils prototype of VR glove with haptic feedback

Meta has shown a prototype glove with haptic feedback functions. According to the parent company of Facebook, this glove should be usable in the future metaverse. The glove is still early in the development phase.

The glove with haptic feedback technology should bring a sense of touch to the future metaverse, says Meta. Users should be able to feel texture, pressure and vibrations that match those of the virtual environment thanks to small, inflatable air pockets in the glove.

The prototype has white markings that allow cameras to see how the fingers are moved. The glove also contains small, internal sensors to monitor how the user bends their fingers. Meta says it has placed soft actuators, small air pockets, all over the glove to provide a sense of pressure and vibrations, among other things.

According to Meta, the glove contains the world’s first fast microfluidic processor. This microfluidic chip controls the airflow with which the actuators on the glove move. Meta says that by using the airflow, many more actuators can fit on the glove than using electronic circuitry.

Meta says it is still in the early stages of the investigation. In the future, the company wants to combine the haptic glove with consumer VR and AR glasses for use in the metaverse. It should then be possible, among other things, to make a 3d puzzle in VR, where Meta promises that users’ fingers will automatically stop moving when they pick up a puzzle piece. The sharp, cardboard edges should also start to feel lifelike.

Glove prototype from Meta with actuators.

Another company developing haptic VR glove technology, HaptX, is accusing Meta of possible patent infringement. The core components of Meta’s haptic feedback glove are identical to its patented technology, according to the company. As an example, HaptX cites the glove’s ‘silicone-based, microfluidic tactile feedback laminate’. The ‘pneumatic control architecture’ of Meta’s glove is also said to have been described by the patents.

HaptX hopes to reach a “fair and just” agreement that will allow Facebook’s parent company to use HaptX’s technology in its products. The company says it has not heard anything from Meta so far.