Meta (the new name of Facebook Inc.), owner of Facebook, showed this Tuesday (16) the prototype of a glove with tactile response to virtual reality, taking another step towards what it considers to be the future, the metaverse.
Facebook’s research laboratory has been developing the project for seven years, according to a company blog post. The glove would represent “what the digital world will be in between 10 and 15 years”, says the company.
When placed in the hand, it mimics sensations from the physical world from virtual objects: the person feels as if they are holding something real, but it is digital. This type of combination of environments and experiences translates the concept of metaverse, which the company appropriates when changing its name.
The glove system combines tiny motors, a chip that controls the airflow that moves the actuators, a hand-tracking technology and a tactile renderer that sends need instructions to the actuators in hand, based on the properties of the virtual objects, like texture and weight.
The project is still in the early stages. According to Meta, the goal is to pair the gloves with the virtual reality headset for an immersive experience or with an augmented reality goggle.
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