One of the in-things right now in the tech world apart from drones, wearable computing, and mobile devices is VR (Virtual Reality). Initially a crude technology in the 1990s that died due to cumbersome headsets, it is now back with a vengeance that started with Oculus, made more accessible with Google Cardboard, and now more companies are jumping into the VR market for different purposes, as VR offers a whole new world to explore.

One area where VR is strong in is with gaming, as VR gaming gives you 360-degree immersive experience and makes it more interactive. You will duck, hide, get scared, and you will definitely move as you will perceive things to be real, even if you know they are not “real world” real.

While others are building VR headsets, others are building VR accessories such as devices that give you haptic feedback. Haptic feedback gives you the “feel” when you get hit with something in the form of vibration and it is usually with the gaming controller that was started with the Sony Playstation “Dual Shock” controller in the late 1990s. Now, are there different types of game controllers that give you haptic feedback such as those designed to look like guns.

Now, a company takes haptic feedback for gaming to another level. NullSpace VR, Inc. has already successfully raised funds on Kickstarter for its Hardlight VR Suit. This suit has 16 positional haptics sensors & vibration nodes, lightweight and comfortable to use. The sensors and vibration sensors target muscle groups in upper part of your body, and if you get shot, stabbed, punched, slashed, or hit by a shockwave, you will feel it. Unlike in airsoft where sometimes a BB hit cannot be felt due to a thick vest, this will VR suit will make you sure you will feel every hit.

For the meantime, the Hardlight VR Suit works with PC-based VR games with over 10 game titles already developed with it and they have an SDK for other game developers to work with to make it backwards compatible. The suit’s tracking system also augments the tracking systems of existing VR headsets such as those from Oculus and HTC.

To be able to own one, you can pledge at least US$399 which will give you an early bird VR Hardlight Suit which will be cheaper by 36% than the retail price when it gets available if the project is on track for a September 2017 release.

The idea of a suit that gives haptic feedback in VR gaming is something that we can dream of for airsoft. Now, if somebody can come out with a project that can create a tactical vest that is filled with sensors to monitor BB hits and give haptic feedback to the player, then it might just minimize the concerns of cheating in airsoft games. I know it is wishful thinking, but who knows? Somebody might just jump at the opportunity to make one for airsoft.