Touch feedback specialist Immersion, has today announced an expansion of its TouchSense Force Haptic Lab, giving Unity developers the ability to add touch effects into their projects.
By integrating one of the biggest software development engines available, Immersion’s Haptic Lab will enable Unity developers to adopt potentially faster, real-time workflows for designing, testing, feeling and integrating haptics into their titles. Additionally, studios can experiment with the haptic capabilities of commercial game controllers, including TouchSense Force technology enabled peripherals.
“Since more games are made with Unity than with any other game technology, expanding our TouchSense Force solution to be compatible with Unity adds tremendous opportunity for those developing games on this industry-leading platform,” said Chris Ullrich, Vice President of User Experience and Analytics at Immersion. “Developers can make their games much more engaging through the power of touch, including those for the wildly popular Nintendo Switch system.”
Unity now joins another popular software solution for creating videogames, Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4, which was introduced back in February. Immersion has designed a haptic toolset for each platform, giving developers the ability to build for multiple controllers through a single interface, so more titles can feature tactile feedback experiences.
Precise haptic feedback is becoming evermore important in the technology world, whether it’s in a smartphone, videogame console or virtual reality (VR) controller, the ability to touch, and get a corresponding response helps cement a player in a virtual world. Immersion created the rumble in the Xbox and PlayStation controllers, and recently signed a deal implementing their tech into titles developed for Nintendo Switch.
It’s in the field of VR however that the greatest progress is being made. British firm Ultrahapics secured £17.9 million GBP of investment earlier this year for its ultrasound technology, whilst 2017 has seen several Kickstarter campaigns launched, such as VRgluv, the Hardlight VR haptic suit, and the INAVR Vest, or then there’s Korean startup bHaptics with its TactSuit.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Immersion, reporting back with the latest updates.