Tactical Haptics is a company founded by Professor William Provancher earlier this year. They hope to bring their own version of haptic feedback, called Reactive Grip, to the market. Early viewings of this technology show a lot of potential, but I’m especially interested in how this tech can be used for making virtual reality gaming more immersive.
I’ve seen some impressive motion controls, both released and still in development, but Reactive Grip’s demo really caught my eye. With virtual reality gaming soon to hit the market, we’ll need devices that can be used in multiple situations as different items. I wrote about the Delta Six gun controller that’s going to be released, and as excited as I am about that product, I know that there will be many other games that won’t benefit from a gun controller. So the market is still open for products to created that can be used as gun, sword or steering wheel.
The demo they showed at GDC was running off a modified Razer Hydra and showed how their Reactive Grip technology will bring games to life by allowing us to feel as if we’re realistically thrashing a sword about or firing rounds from rifle. I think this technology, embedded in the right products, will take interactive gaming to new heights. You can check out the GDC demo below: