The march for more realism in Virtual Reality continues. This growing and exciting field offers in which users are given a 360-degree immersive experience provide developers another area to ensure that this experience goes to another level via haptic feedback and a growing number of companies are rushing to put out devices that can give feedback points.

Popular Airsoft did cover one before, Hardlight VR, produced by NullsoftSpace VR Inc., has 16 haptic feedback points that focus on the upper parts of the body, mainly the shoulders, chest, abdomen, arms, and upper back. If playing a VR game, a player can feel a gunshot, stab, punch, or a shockwave in these areas.

But now, here comes another company that aims to put the VR suit offerings of other companies to shame. Korean company, bHaptics, put out their TactSuit that offers 87 haptic feedback points. According to Engadget, the TacSuit, which was on display during HTC Vive X demo day in Shanghai, it is a wireless kit composed of a mask, vest, and sleeves. Now as for the feedback points that are powered by rotating mass actuators, 7 are found in the mask, 20 on each sleeve, 20 on the back of the vest, and 20 on front. This placement of feedback points means that the user will relatively have 360-degree haptic feedback on the upper part of the body up to the head.

VR game developers that want to exploit this number of feedback points can program their games to give a sensation that players probably would not have felt before in other video games such as being slashed by a sword, or multiple gunshot hits. With the mask that sensation is also brought to face. I guess you have to be prepared to be tortured by these sensations especially when playing VR games that depict violence.

Honestly, I am excited by what the TactSuit offers though the company will be offering this for arcade games rather than individual players for now, even if the pricing they are looking into is less than US$550 per TactSuit, which is affordable compared to other offerings in the market based on price to sensor ratio.

Well, I suppose for now it arcade gaming can allow the company to fine tune the product as it allows them to get a good number of players in one setting, such as the experience of these players who played Zombie Attack at the Lotte World Amusement Park in Seoul, South Korea:

The only thing that the TacSuit will need to add is more feedback points for the lower part of the body, in particular the legs to make a fully haptic bodysuit. I can just imagine how this can be used for tactical training for military and law enforcement training as these organisations are looking into VR to supplement training of their members.

I just hope that this can be released for use at home soon enough. If I can’t play airsoft outside due to bad weather conditions, at least I get to play something that will also give me the sensation of being hit, no marshals necessary.

Photo Credits: Endgadget