Teslasuit has just recently unveiled its latest cutting edge technology, and this time, it is dubbed the Teslasuit Glove. The Teslasuit Glove will allow players to immerse themselves into virtual reality more than ever before through its advanced technology, but curious fans are eager to know exactly what it is and how it works. The Teslasuit Glove aims to redefine the virtual reality genre, and not just for gamers, but for other fields as well. This huge leap marks the beginning of a new era for virtual reality, as it is only a matter of time before this technology becomes more accessible and is duplicated by other brands.
For those that don't know, Teslasuit revealed its titular invention at 2018's CES (Consumer Electronics Show), and released it at the selfsame event in 2019. The suit promised to immerse its users fully in virtual settings and fulfills this promise through the use of haptic feedback. In short, users can feel things in the virtual world as if they were there in reality.
The suit also comes with complete motion tracking, meaning an entire body could be rendered into virtual reality rather than the floating hands players are used to now. As incredible as this is, the suit lacked a major component: it had no gloves. Users still held virtual reality controllers in conjunction with the suit, which brought limitations to immersion. Developers stated that "Teslasuit was originally designed as a suit but is constantly evolving – the glove is the next logical step."
So what can this glove actually do, and what makes it so special? For starters, like the suit, the Teslasuit Glove has full motion capture capabilities. This means that, in the case of gaming, the user's hand would be recreated virtually completely. Precise hand movements could be emulated rather than the ones available to players now through extremely limited VR controllers, and players may be able to interact with their environment in different ways. This motion capture extends beyond the fingers and hands and to the wrist, and syncs with the Teslasuit perfectly to provide players a fully realized virtual self.
The Teslasuit Glove also features enhanced biometry measurement systems. During use, the suit will constantly measure certain vitals in real time, including emotional state, stress level, heart rate, and more. The applications of this in virtual reality gaming are mostly safety oriented. If something were to happen to the user while playing, whether in response to virtual gaming or otherwise, the suit would immediately know and may even be able to send for help. This feature has its true use in other applications, but more on that later.
The glove's haptic display is perhaps one of the most unique and amazing things about it. While most recent version of the suit features 80 electrostimulation channels (even more than the 52 channels which came with the initial launch of the prodigy version of the suit), the glove will feature a three by three array for each finger. This means that for fingers alone, there are 90 electrostimulation channels, 10 more than the entire suit has, and there are likely at least one or two more for the palm and wrist regions as well. The Teslasuit Glove's haptic displays will enable users to feel pressure when touching virtual objects and even actually feel virtual textures as though they were real.
The haptic display would not be complete, however, without the inclusion of force feedback. While in a virtual space, the Teslasuit Glove attempt to recreate the environment by providing the user's hand with force feedback. This means that if the user presses their hand against an object, say a wall, the glove's exoskeleton will engage and actually stop the user's hand. This level of spatial awareness is paired with things like vibration control to truly immerse the user. Also, in conjunction with a haptic display, this feature allows the user to feel pain from virtual sources, of course this feature is limited so that it does not cause any actual harm to the user's body.
While the Teslasuit and Teslasuit Glove may very well be hugely exciting for fans of VR games, it has many applications in other fields as well. The biometric capabilities of the gloves and suit make its application in virtual training incredible. The gloves in particular could even simulate weights and other forms of resistance that match precisely with the user's physical capabilities and health profile. Programs can be installed with personalized training regimes and the like, allowing the Teslasuit Glove to truly fit to its wearer.
The precision of the motion capture also allows for medical rehabilitation and training uses. Disabled patients could potentially use the suit and gloves to aid in their rehabilitation, and surgeons could even run simulated surgeries for practice and study. The military has already used virtual reality to an extent to aid in combat training, and something like this would only further the possibilities there.
Needless to say, the Teslasuit Glove is an incredible leap forward for virtual reality technology and the future of gaming. Its applications in gaming are extremely exciting to say the least, but what it means for other fields is equally intriguing. Although the suit is available for purchase, pricing is relatively well safe-guarded. In order to purchase the suit, potential buyers would need to contact the company through its website.
The Glove, on the other hand, will hit the market in the second half of 2020 if all goes according to plan. Teslasuit has taken a leap that no other seemed comfortable with before. Hopefully, between its innovating and the inevitable replication of technology from others, this sort of tech will become more widely available soon. Only time will tell.
The Teslasuit Glove will be available for purchase during the second half of 2020.
Source: Teslasuit