HAPTO: VR CONTROLLER PROVIDING A REALISTIC EXPERIENCE FOR VR HEADSETS
Hapto launches on Indiegogo on May 31. Here is a unique virtual reality (VR) controller that has no analogues in the world and that provides a realistic haptic effect. Hapto has all the functions of the best VR controllers. You can do any movements: touch things, hold them, throw, use and change weapons, and more. It is easy to use. Just put it on and you’re set. Hapto is compatible with PCs and Android devices, as well as most popular gear for VR. That includes Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard, Google Daydream, and Merge VR Goggles. Hapto will be available for sale at USD 249, with a discounted early-bird price of USD 149 during the campaign.
“Hapto is meant to give mankind the possibilities we have all barely dreamt about. It’s the sci-fi world come true,” said Alexander Khromenkov, CEO and Founder of Hapto. He added, “For many years, we studied all the medical research on how the human brain ‘forms’ tactical feelings. Once we understood that, we created a system that fully reproduces the impact from touching this or that object. You simply put Hapto on, start a game or an app, and get such a realistic haptic effect that you may even forget you’re in virtual reality.”
“It’s a totally different experience. It’s weird to have that sensation. I mean, I know I am not touching it, but it feels like I am touching it. I really like it. I like the idea of it. I can actually be involved with more than just my eyes; I can touch a thing and move it. That’s pretty cool,” said Bernard Jacobsen, one of the first people to test Hapto.
The first Hapto prototype was developed in 2013 and the project collected funding of USD 100,000 on Kickstarter. But the new Hapto is unique. The haptic mechanism consists of 20 pushers that are accurately configured and programmed. When you touch anything in VR, these pushers react, providing the same haptic effect for your hand as if you were touching this object in reality. Hapto also has the movement-catching light circles placed on both sides that catch your every single move, an accelerometer or gyroscope for rotation detection and motion detection even when the camera can’t see the circle lights, and four buttons for any actions available in a game or app.
Hapto is perfectly ergonomic, suitable for any hand, and equipped with a comfortable strap, allowing perfect adjustment. The device is available in three colors (white and orange, black and white, and black and orange) and has a rechargeable battery that lasts two to three hours of constant gaming. Hapto is currently compatible with the most popular VR gear (Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard, Google Daydream, and Merge VR Goggles). Support for HTC Vive, PSVR, OSVR, and Hololens will soon be added. To integrate Hapto in games, developers only need to add already created SDK. This is great for gamers and developers. Hapto will be available for USD 149 on Indiegogo, starting from May 31. Once the campaign ends, it will retail for USD 249.
About Hapto
Hapto was founded in 2012 by Alex Khromenkov and Vlad Lukashevich—both experts in IT development and sensor-neural reprogramming. Combining their experience with the latest medical research, technical innovations, and a belief that VR presents a full hand of opportunities for the whole world, they decided to exclude the only thing that stopped VR from being 100% usable and perceivable—the absence of haptic feelings. In 2013, they created the first Hapto prototype controller providing full interaction with the VR space. Now, Hapto is ready to introduce the next generation of VR controllers with a realistic haptic effect and complete interaction with any objects. Simple in usage and integration (considering ready-to-add SDK), the Hapto controller is set up to become a new stage in VR, not just in gaming but in every sphere of VR and AR.
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