There were certain demos at CES 2020 which VRFocus was particularly looking forward to, one of which was Teslasuit’s new haptic glove. Alas, as it turned out the company only brought a singular prototype which was locked away behind some protective glass but it did look very nice. Instead, VRFocus caught up with co-founder and CRO Dimitri Mikhalchuk to learn a little more.
From the looks of it, the new Teslasuit Glove will help to round out the company’s enterprise-focused VR lineup. Set to be sold as a pair for $5,000 USD, the gloves can operate in conjunction with the suit over WiFi or on their own, depending on a client’s needs.
The main draw of the gloves will be haptic and force feedback technologies Teslasuit has created, which Mikhalchuk reveals the company has been working on longer than the suit itself. The fingers and thumb all feature haptic actuators to provide users with both touch and texture effects, so they can tell the difference between brickwork or a metal car body for example. What makes the glove so striking is the force feedback mechanism. Providing a range of effects, it’s the ability to apply resistance that has a multitude of applications. With it, users can pick up a digital tennis ball and squeeze it, or actually crack an egg and feel when it gives way.
That’s the theory anyway. When VRFocus has tested other gloves of this ilk that’s generally what they tend to do. Verdicts on how well the Teslasuit Glove performs will have to wait until production models become available. Which shouldn’t be too long as Mikhalchuk said the first developer kits will be going out around April.
Because of the previously mentioned price tag, the glove won’t be a consumer-focused model appearing on Amazon’s Balck Friday deals. There is a possibility of location-based entertainment (LBE) locations being able to use the kit when the final model is ready but don’t expect one to appear in your local arcade anytime soon.
Check out the full video interview below and for further updates on the Teslasuit Glove keep reading VRFocus.