Recently, the FutureInterfaces Group research group at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States has developed a new VR headset technology, equipped with ultrasonic phased array technology, which allows players to perceive intraoral touches such as lips and teeth, thus bringing a new experience.
At present, VR equipment is based on visual and sound sensory experience, and surpassing these to bring more sensory experiences will be one of the main areas for VR to break through in the future.
Previous VR headsets have supported some external touches such as hands and feet, and Carnegie Mellon University's Future Interfaces Group's ultrasonic phased array technology "Mouth Haptics in VR using a Headset Ultrasound Phased Array" will bring a new breakthrough experience to VR headsets, and it is believed that applying to VR games will make players more excited.
It is understood that the ultrasonic phased array technology originates from the radar electromagnetic wave phased array technology, which is composed of many radiation units arranged into arrays, and adjusts the radiation direction of electromagnetic waves by controlling the amplitude and phase of each unit in the array antenna, and synthesizes the radar beam of flexible focus scanning within a certain spatial range.
By using a headset with an integrated ultrasonic phased array, the acoustic energy in the air is concentrated in the wearer's mouth, creating a sense of touch. Not only does it create the feeling of a point being touched instantly on the lips, but it can also express dynamic movements such as sliding up and down, left and right, random movements, and continuous vibrations.
Linking this ultrasonic phased array to a VR headset can present a tactile sensation synchronized with the events experienced in VR, and can achieve a more realistic and immersive effect. For example, drinking drinks from a cup, brushing your teeth with a toothbrush, smoking, etc., the video also demonstrates the situation of spider silk hanging on the mouth when passing through the spider web, insects crawling on the lips, and liquid splashing on the lips.
By linking this ultrasonic phased array with a VR headset, you can simultaneously simulate the touch of the events experienced in VR, so as to achieve a more realistic and immersive effect. For example, drinking drinks from a cup, brushing your teeth with a toothbrush, smoking, etc., the video also demonstrates the situation of spider silk hanging on the mouth when passing through the spider web, insects crawling on the lips, and liquid splashing on the lips.
Now microsoft, Apple and Meta and other giants are stepping up their own VR products, Apple's prediction will be released this year, do not know whether Apple's VR headset device has physical touch interaction function. If there is no physical tactile interaction, vr can do more limited, can only stay at the visual level, can not achieve revolutionary subversion of the VR industry, only the expansion of human visual screen.