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A new haptic VR vest is making its way into the market. Skinetic, a haptic vest that creates realistic tactile sensations, will level up gaming experiences. Wearing Skinectic will let the user feel every interaction they make within the virtual environment as in reality.
Skinetic was first introduced during CES 2022 by start-up company Actronika. The company says that the haptic vest is designed to allow users to experience a new generation of immersive VR. It is built to give users life-like sensations in every interaction within the virtual world.
Virtual reality technology has evolved in recent years thanks to the improvement of VR gears such as VR headsets. While VR headsets bring the sense of sight and hearing, they don’t bring the users’ sense of touch. This is why technology companies are starting to develophaptic feedback suits.
The minds behind Skinetic is the team from Actronika, known for its HD haptics technology. According to its developers, Skinetic uses a technology that works with 20-patented vibrotactile voice-coil motors. These coils can generate a wide range of vibrations that are said to cover 100% of human vibrotactile perception.
Actronika further explained that they made sure that the sensation is real when a user wears the Skinetic. This was possible by studying the human body’s variation sensitivity to optimize the wearer’s perception and feeling. Through this, Actronika affirmed that Skinetic users will be able to handle the impact of bullets or water drops as in real life.
The CEO of Actronika, Gilles Meyer, said that players are starting to add a sense of touch to VR. However, the sensations brought by the current gears in the market are still very flat. Thus, the company decided to develop the technology from black-and-white to full color.
With over 30 years of expertise in haptic technology, Actronika developed Skinetic as a device for users to feel real-life sensations to deliver a unique and immersive VR experience.
To deliver unique VR experiences, the Skinetic vest will enable the users to simultaneously touch, hear, and see all things present in the VR environment. This will give the vest wearers with live and direct, real-to-life sensations by feeling every interaction in your VR environment.
Here’s everything you need to know about Skinetic and the technology it uses:
Skinetic uses Actronika’s interactive haptic ecosystem designed to integrate realistic vibrotactile haptics. The UniTouch Interactive Haptic System delivers the following features:
The Skinetic is equipped with 20 highly innovative voice-coil motors (VCM) placed all over the torso, both front and back. This includes 16x HapCoil-One and 4x HapCoil-Plus motors.
These voice-coil motors enable the haptic system to dissociate the intensity from the amplitude of vibration being sent. This allows the vest to reproduce an infinite range of sensations.
With localized sensations and tracking technologies, Skinetic can precisely adapt the haptic rendering in real-time. You will be able to feel exactly what you do and what happens in the real-time virtual environment.
Unlike other haptic gears and vests in the market, Skinetic is capable of allowing users to feel more than just the blows and impacts present in the VR world. They offer a wide range of sensations, from the feeling of raindrops to the breeze of the wind.
This way, the user’s VR experience will become more immersive similar to real life.
Actronika has worked with Les Vertugadins, a Parisian costume design studio, to work with the textile design of the vest. With their expertise, Actronika achieved the most ergonomic design possible with their Skinetic without the need to compromise with the style.
The Skinetic is designed to work in a PC VR setup. This means that any computer can use the vest no matter whatVR gaming headset setup you are currently using.
Aside from these standalone VR headsets, Actronika has started a partnership with the Protube VR. Together with the company, they are currently developing a VR accessories ecosystem to be able to produce the most unique and immersive experiences.
Here’s a complete list of the system interface compatibility:
Skinetic is now available for pre-order on Kickstarter starting March 22, 2022. You can visit theirKickstarter page to know more about the product.
Virtual Reality (VR) has completely changed the way we game, offering immersive experiences that transport us to new worlds. With so many VR headsets to choose from, picking the right one for your gaming style can feel a bit challenging.
