Impacto adds physical feedback to virtual reality
Impacto is a research project being carried out by Pedro Lopes, Alexandra Ion, and Patrick Baudisch at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Germany. It works by combining a skin tap with electrical muscle simulation contained in a small wireless device attached to the body. When a virtual hit occurs, the device reacts by physically tapping the skin and enhancing the hit response by stimulating the user’s muscles and forcing the limb back, just as if it had been struck. All this is achieved in just 50ms.
The tactile response can be varied by fitting a number of different-shaped tips to the device. The type of feedback the user receives is especially suited to sports, with the Impacto having been tested for boxing, soccer, and baseball so far.
While it may seem like quite a limited system, remember this is just a research project and a work in progress, yet they’ve already created a wireless system that can give physical feedback and hooked it into the Unity game engine. Imagine miniaturizing such a device, attaching a number of them to different parts of the body, and you’re well on your way to a virtual reality force feedback suit.
See the full story here: http://www.geek.com/games/impacto-adds-physical-feedback-to-virtual-reality-1639565/