This might be a title that may seem a bit meaningless at first, but read on and it will get interesting – promise. Haptics are a very unique way of conveying certain feelings to the user, and there are always new efforts to develop it further. A group of scientists from Carnegie Mellon University’s Future Interfaces Group is now making a breakthrough with their latest efforts though. They managed to fit an Oculus Quest 2 with ultrasonic transducers, which can generate ultrasonic energy. For some reason, they’ve pointed this straight at the mouth to add unique sensations to the VR experience. Even this statement alone can go a long way, but hold on.
This energy directed towards your mouth actually creates sensations around your mouth which are felt like pulsations, swipes or vibrations. Their speed and intensity also varies. Most shocking part is that they can imitate real feelings, could be wind or rain on your face or most people’s worst fear – spiders.
The video actually shows that, as you can go through a haunted forest covered with spider webs and you can feel them right in your face thanks to its swiping motion. Even worse, when a spider jumps onto your face, the haptics make you feel all eight legs crawling on your mouth. Ew.
More sane uses of this technology includes water, air, drinks, cigarette and such daily sensations. Possibilities are apparently endless as the technology is developed further. With some other types of haptics like “chemical haptics”, you can also feel cold and heat. This would help a lot with drinks or any other temperature-related interactions.
According to the surveys done by the team, people who tried it say that the immersion is substantially boosted thanks to these new haptics system. They are also attached to any headset, so availability and ease of use will be much higher than it sounds.
