New VR Gloves! Plexus Gloves w/ Cross Platform Modular Open Hardware

[Kevski802]

Quote

We understand that tracking is an evolving technology, so we offer tracking adapters for the Vive, Oculus, and Windows MR devices - and have open hardware to allow access to data and power. With our SteamVR and standalone tracking in the pipeline, we have future-proofed Plexus for the entire XR tracking spectrum. - Plexus Website

 

Quote

Plexus is first approaching users on the enterprise side. It’s understandably pretty difficult to gather traction on consumer platforms that are already complicated enough to figure out on their own. By shipping developer kits at just $249 per pair, the company has a shot at gathering early interest from devs with whom $1,000+ kits have failed. - TechCrunch

 

 

 

A relative working with VR for applications in medical education sent me this article and I wasn't able to find it on the forum yet. I like VR but I'm not a fan of any of the controllers I've used and something like a glove would be much more natural, maybe not for gaming, but for 3D modeling which is my main interest as far as VR applications go. That's why I try to keep up with the glove tech a bit.

 

This design Plexus has looks pretty comfortable to me (keeping most of the hand open). I've seen some other prototype designs like this but they were more bulky and I like how most of the weight is on the back of the hand towards the wrist.

 

I don't know much as far as programming something like this but on the plexus site it seems development and compatibility are a focus (which they should be) and as mentioned in the article the price is lower ($250) than other gloves that have been released. Also the modular hardware aspect seems like a great idea for developers. I'm optimistic about the future of VR interaction and if input like this developed and implemented well I will probably invest in a VR system. For now I'm just happy to see development!

 

I know @Slick is busy busy with Floatplane now but I always like his VR opinions so hopefully in the future he will do a couple VR Glove reviews when implementation is wider!

 

 

Original Article:

https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/21/plexus-gloves-bring-vr-sensations-to-your-fingertips/

 

Plexus Site:

http://plexus.im/

[TacoSenpai]

So now you too can touch your VR Waifu....

 

 

 

 

Shit just got real

[Kevski802]

Ha, well I think that's more these ones with that " make your virtual hands feel just like real ones "...

https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/20/haptx-gloves-vr/

[Beskamir]

An issue with wearable haptic devices is that you can't ground them. Basically Newton's 3rd law of motion kind of cheapens the entire experience if you can't ground them to something.

[PlayStation 2]

 

[PlayStation 2]

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

Beat me to it.   But ya I hope this isn't as "bad" as the power glove.

I'd be surprised if it's more of a fuck-up than that, because we've had over 25 years to improve

[PlayStation 2]

Just now, valdyrgramr said:

But, has anyone made a glove since other than now?   

I'm way too tempted to make a really bad joke here

[I-r0k]

Ready Player One IRL CONFIRMED!

Spoiler

I am an RP1 expert if you have any questions.

 

[charduff]

Hey guys, just found this link through Google. I'm one of the creators of Plexus. If you have any questions I'm happy to answer here! 

[Kevski802]

The accuracy specs sound good, and the demo video is cool. I think I would prefer simple haptic feedback in a super light package than an exoskeleton like the Dexmo.

 

So I was wondering what the resistance is like on the finger straps. Are they super soft or is there some resistance?

 

Would there need to be different sizes or is it one size fits all?

[Kevski802]

On 6/26/2018 at 10:30 PM, ElfFriend said:

An issue with wearable haptic devices is that you can't ground them. Basically Newton's 3rd law of motion kind of cheapens the entire experience if you can't ground them to something.

I agree, and I really don't expect any experience that you could reasonably use at home to ever simulate that accurately enough mainly because nothing has weight. Sure you can simulate gripping something but whats the point if it has no weight when you move it and that takes you out of the experience anyway.

 

We would need artificial gravity and lanterns with tractor beams or something. Maybe a super magnet under you could simulate gravity but that would be only one dimension.

 

I look at the glove as a more efficient way to interact with VR, and that along with your imagination (which is a big part of VR anyway) should make the experience more immersive than trying to simulate some degrees of Newtons 3rd.

 

I've never tried any of those exoskeleton contraptions though so that's just my theory.

[Arika]

ignore VR, gimme Minority Report AR control 

[dizmo]

That looks super uncomfortable and awkward. VR is interesting, but still has so far to go.

On 6/25/2018 at 9:12 AM, VegetableStu said:

does it recharge under the sun?

What are this?

[Beskamir]

2 hours ago, Kevski802 said:

I agree, and I really don't expect any experience that you could reasonably use at home to ever simulate that accurately enough mainly because nothing has weight. Sure you can simulate gripping something but whats the point if it has no weight when you move it and that takes you out of the experience anyway.

 

We would need artificial gravity and lanterns with tractor beams or something. Maybe a super magnet under you could simulate gravity but that would be only one dimension.

 

I look at the glove as a more efficient way to interact with VR, and that along with your imagination (which is a big part of VR anyway) should make the experience more immersive than trying to simulate some degrees of Newtons 3rd.

 

I've never tried any of those exoskeleton contraptions though so that's just my theory.

An idea I've had about making wearable haptics possibly work would be to somehow attach thrust to them. The super magnet idea is actually pretty neat but what if the haptic devices could say shoot air with enough pressure to give it a noticeable force?

[Bananasplit_00]

Ok great, now if we could have VR headsets that I could afford to begin with that would be great. Love VR tho, both the Vive and Rift are pretty damn great IMO

[Guest]

Gaming gloves, can't wait for gaming socks. Memes becoming reality. 

 

 

[Markus Jupiter]

9 hours ago, charduff said:

Hey guys, just found this link through Google. I'm one of the creators of Plexus. If you have any questions I'm happy to answer here! 

Your Gloves really sound promising for some use cases. It might be something for some of our customers.
 

A few Questions.
-How will the Glove connect to a PC?
-Do you have an estimation of the battery life?

-Did you have problems with bigger and smaller hand sizes as average users, will there be different sizes?

[GoldenLag]

Inb4 groping simulator 2020

 

Im calling it

 

Spoiler

Im shure steam approves

 

[charduff]

10 hours ago, Kevski802 said:

The accuracy specs sound good, and the demo video is cool. I think I would prefer simple haptic feedback in a super light package than an exoskeleton like the Dexmo.

 

So I was wondering what the resistance is like on the finger straps. Are they super soft or is there some resistance?

 

Would there need to be different sizes or is it one size fits all?

Hi Kevski,

Thanks and thanks! In terms of the resistance on the finger straps, we use a soft silicone formula we created - its around 10 A on the shore scale so its super flexible. Depending on your hand size you will feel a slight resistance that will increase the bigger your hand. It has the inadvertent effect of giving the slight resistive feeling when you grasp something - not something we planned for but a slight bonus!

Because they're mechanical sensors they rely on any amount of tension to be effective. Currently our size is 'Regular' and we've found that they work perfectly fine on most men we put them on, girthy hands and slender hands alike. For those with large hands (especially longer fingers) the sensing works perfectly fine also, though it becomes more of a comfort issue. I'm pretty much in the centre of the bellcurve of hand sizes and I can wear them indefinitely, one of my colleagues, Matt, has quite large hands and they do get uncomfortable after about half an hour of straight use - though as we're right now in development stage, at this moment we see developers taking the fingers off quite often to code up the experience. 

We do have Small and Large sizes in the pipeline! Though the initial batch of tooling is set-up for Regular - but if you are keen to get updated on our progress feel free to sign up for updates on the website and I'll be sure to add that into an update once we nail down the timing! 

Thanks for the questions! 
C

[charduff]

10 hours ago, Kevski802 said:

I agree, and I really don't expect any experience that you could reasonably use at home to ever simulate that accurately enough mainly because nothing has weight. Sure you can simulate gripping something but whats the point if it has no weight when you move it and that takes you out of the experience anyway.

 

We would need artificial gravity and lanterns with tractor beams or something. Maybe a super magnet under you could simulate gravity but that would be only one dimension.

 

 

I've never tried any of those exoskeleton contraptions though so that's just my theory.

Well, technically speaking, it is possible to ground gloves. You'd need a pretty vastly complex system that might include a kinematic chain that links down your body directly to your feet, or you might need it in a special room that mechanically tethers the glove to the floor - either way it is probably a thing for an industrial lab rather than a home or training sim. 

When you're wearing gloves and you get tactile feedback when you grab and touch things its pretty amazing how quickly you accept that digital environment as real. Add this to the experience that the developer has built and it all builds into the immersion. Its all about psychophysics! 

 

Quote

I look at the glove as a more efficient way to interact with VR, and that along with your imagination (which is a big part of VR anyway) should make the experience more immersive than trying to simulate some degrees of Newtons 3rd.

 

Its pretty much what we've found when chatting with devs and industry people. The idea about giving users a frictionless transition into VR, so they don't have to learn how to use a controller, and how to map each button to an interaction. Being able to intuitively jump into an environment is one of the biggest values. 

 

 

 

 

[TVwazhere]

11 minutes ago, charduff said:

Hi Kevski,

We do have Small and Large sizes in the pipeline! Though the initial batch of tooling is set-up for Regular - but if you are keen to get updated on our progress feel free to sign up for updates on the website and I'll be sure to add that into an update once we nail down the timing! 

Thanks for the questions! 
C

I would definitely recommend a "measurement chart" because while I know my hands are large (long and thin) someone who might be "larger than regular" but "smaller than large" would probably benefit from suggested hand measurement sizes.

[charduff]

10 hours ago, dizmo said:

That looks super uncomfortable and awkward. VR is interesting, but still has so far to go.

What are this?

I can wear them indefinitely! And once you're in VR you don't even think about your physical body  
Agreed. VR still has a long way to go - we and so many other companies are working on this.

[charduff]

1 minute ago, TVwazhere said:

I would definitely recommend a "measurement chart" because while I know my hands are large (long and thin) someone who might be "larger than regular" but "smaller than large" would probably benefit from suggested hand measurement sizes.

Absolutely. I will get some more stats and post one up here in the next week or so !

[Shreyas1]

8 hours ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

Ok great, now if we could have VR headsets that I could afford to begin with that would be great. Love VR tho, both the Vive and Rift are pretty damn great IMO

Google Cardboard?

[charduff]

8 hours ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

Ok great, now if we could have VR headsets that I could afford to begin with that would be great. Love VR tho, both the Vive and Rift are pretty damn great IMO

Soon my friend. I'm thinking in the next couple of years the price of high quality headsets will be more attractive - plus with foveated rendering we'll be able to use them on any computer!