VR Gloves Seeing a Stronger Hold in 2020 and Beyond

In a recent blog post, Microsoft announced that is working on a new Haptic Pivot prototype wrist-worn controller. This controller prototype allows users to gain a more immersive and realistic experience, and feel a variety of sensations, such as weight and haptic feedback; in a shown example, the firmness of an apple, the resistance from a tree branch, etc. This research prototype indicates a continued Virtual Reality (VR) interest for Microsoft, increasing VR market maturity, and increasing levels of immersion, realism, and reliability for enterprise use cases.

 Over the last 3 years, along with the rapid growth and advancements in VR Head-Mounted Device (HMD) market, VR accessories, including VR controllers and VR gloves, have also seen growth with promise of improved user experience by enabling more intuitive interaction and greater level of immersion across use cases. VR entertainment and gaming apps are a primary focus for consumers, but there is potential to revolutionize some critical VR training concepts to achieve better learning outcomes in the enterprise sector. The VR glove and controller market has seen steady growth with the number of manufacturers increasing; some of the leading VR glove providers are CaptoGlove, Manus, HaptX, VRFree, Hi5 VR Glove, Peregrine VR Glove, VRgluv, Bebop sensors, and Dexta Robotics. Also, Apple has secured some patents for the design of a VR glove capable of measuring the movement of an individual’s finger and thumb.

VR training is the leading application for the VR enterprise market, not only because it is a cost-effective solution for businesses, but also because it allows trainees to achieve better training performance metrics. Successful implementations have proven that VR simulators and training content better prepare employees for real use cases due to the interactive and immersive nature of VR; at the same time, “learning by practicing” in realistic conditions boosts trainees’ confidence and leads to improved knowledge retention for long-term periods. However, in certain training scenarios, the lack of touch/weight feedback can affect the outcome of training and the success of transferring/applying skills in real scenarios. For instance, when an employee needs to handle tools, press buttons, or work with hands, both feedback and accuracy are important.

VR gloves that provide haptic feedback can address this issue and allow trainees to better prepare for realistic scenarios. Relying on gloves instead of controllers helps trainees with interacting with virtual elements as in the real world, by using all fingers, sensing all forces from virtual objects, and developing muscle memory to suitably and safely perform tasks, which is crucial in hazardous and fast-paced training environments, such as construction, healthcare, military, and emergency response. Moreover, the embedded sensors in gloves can collect rich data regarding a trainee’s performance and provide insightful metrics/feedback not possible with other control and input types.

Apart from VR training applications, VR gloves and other VR accessories, such as rotating chairs, can enhance other VR applications, such as gaming or VR sports and fitness that are flourishing during the COVID-19 crisis. VR education, especially for those with special needs/learning disabilities, is also proving valuable and growing in usage. Retail and marketing use cases are also maturing, with value in VR product design in enterprise applications and product visualization/interaction for consumers.

Despite the extra value that can be added in enterprise applications and enhancements in user experience, VR gloves and other VR-related accessories are still a complementary control solution with limited adoption rates only for certain type of use cases and consumer groups. The high prices, which can reach more than US$10,000 for an enterprise VR glove, in combination with limited scale in device manufacturing/supply chain (especially during the COVID-19 crisis) are the primary adoption barriers today. At the same time, technological capabilities require further improvements in terms of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, response time/low latency, battery life and power consumption, design, ergonomics, fabrics, materials, and hygiene (another very important criteria during COVID-19).

The quality of force feedback/haptics is an important factor as well; in order to be reliable and accurate, feedback should be consistent and easy to understand by the user; however, achieving accurate motion tracking requires multiple sensors beyond gyroscopes and accelerometers that add more circuit and data process complexity. Also, to increase adoption rates, VR gloves require mature Software Development Kits (SDKs) to allow developers to build/adjust enterprise applications that efficiently work with the device, compatibility with VR HMDs, and easy set-up, which is especially important in remote VR training. In order to achieve immersive experiences, VR gloves and other accessories should be combined with other sources of feedback, such as spatial sound, head, and eye tracking.

VR gloves with haptic feedback have the potential to replace traditional controllers in the future. Value both in enterprise and consumer use cases and content is there, and can even be expanded into the Augmented Reality (AR) market that often has similar input needs and intuitive control. For this to happen, more affordable prices and more mature technologies as a whole are required, which will allow for lower prices overall, while maintaining accuracy, user experience, and capability.