VR gloves aren't exactly a new idea. With intuitive hand tracking being built into most VR headsets these days, the need for controllers is changing. Interacting without clunky controllers can streamline the use of these devices, but they're not ideal. The biggest drawback to controllerless VR? It has to be a lack of feel.
For that reason, haptic gloves have been making small ripples in the market, but they haven't exactly taken off yet. That said, Japanese developer Sharp unveiled a glove-controller hybrid last week, which I sincerely hope is the future. I've been on the lookout for potential new ways for gamers to interact with VR games, and this seems like the best of both worlds.
"Don't you want to touch this and that?" Asks Sharp's website, ominously.
"Have you ever felt frustrated when playing VR because you couldn't touch the objects right in front of you? We can solve that frustration! With the VR haptic controller, you can not only feel the touch, but you can also feel the texture (smooth, rough, etc.)"
While researching this story, I happened to find that one of my favorite VR headsets is currently on offer. If you're in the UK and you're in the market for a VR headset for gaming or mixed reality, please do yourself a favor and check out my Pico 4 Ultra review. It's by far the best Meta Quest 3 alternative out there, and in some places, it even has it beaten on specs. Right now, you can get it cheaper at Amazon. Anyways, back to the story at hand.
Pico 4 Ultra | £529 £439 at Amazon
Unfortunately, the reference image to the side of that text shows a hand using this glove to touch... an anime character's hair? Let's hope this is being made more for gaming feedback than for any other nefarious purposes that VR headsets are often associated with...
Sharp's new hybrid controller is being released as a prototype in Japan to begin with, with pre-registration already closed following last week's announcement. It combines the typical layout of a VR controller with the maneuverability and comfort of a glove. There's a slot for each of your fingers and your thumb to slide into, and according to the marketing materials, each one includes multi-segmented drive tactile elements on the fingertips. In other words, there are electrodes with divided vibrators on them that will convey a tactile, precise feel when touching objects.
But building the typical elements of a controller into play as well could be the difference maker here. The drawbacks of hand tracking and gloves are that it can be very hard to interact in games that are designed to be played with controllers. Pinching mixed-reality menus is great, but when there's no way to move your character forward in a game, things get tricky.
Sharp's Prototype has a thumbstick and three buttons for you to use, which, in my mind, makes it a lot more viable since it'd be easier to build support into for various games. This is the other problem with VR controllers; the third-party market just isn't there because headsets are often designed to be used with their partnering controllers. Yes, you can link up one of the best Xbox Series X controllers to a Meta Quest 3S and play Xbox games, but one of those won't work for VR titles.
"To add haptic content to objects, you need to be able to operate a game engine (to the extent that you can upload a world to Social VR)" says Sharp's website page for the controller.
"We aim to present tactile sensations to five fingertips on each hand, but we will adjust the number of tactile sensations based on survey results, etc...
"The haptics are not at a level that replicates the real thing, but by changing the parameters, we are able to achieve a variety of tactile sensations. Rather than keeping it in-house until the developers are satisfied, we plan to work together with users to improve the quality of the content.
And how much will one of these prototype glove controllers set you back? Well, the device, which right now doesn't even have an official name, has a provisional price of ¥ 100,000, which equates to $671 USD, or £505 in the UK. Not exactly cheap, but hey, if the glove fits.
There are plenty of controllers out there to try. Check out the best PC controllers, the best PS5 controllers, and the best Nintendo Switch controllers.
