New VR Gloves Let You Touch Unreal Objects

VR is pretty cool, but we've yet to reach the advanced technology seen in movies like Ready Player One. On headsets like the PlayStation VR or Oculus Quest, we can see and interact with worlds that aren't really there. Other than just a vibration or two, however, we can't really feel virtual reality. Or can we?

Teslasuit (not to be confused with Elon Musk's Tesla) is looking to change that. The technology company is developing wearable tech that allows for users to feel the unreal; that is, get tactile feedback from virtual reality. The company recently announced a VR glove with the goal of "Making the Immersion into Virtual Reality More Realistic and Accurate than Ever Before." This super futuristic looking glove integrates "motion capture, biometry and force feedback" in order to detect exactly how players are moving their hands and respond accordingly.

That said, Teslasuit didn't make the glove or its VR suit with gaming in mind. Rather, the Teslasuit website highlights the company's technology being used in mixed reality performance training, athletics, and rehabilitation. In the Teslasuit Glove announcement post, CEO Sergei Nossoff said, "We've created the Teslasuit Glove to expand XR training capabilities. The array of integrated features makes our product extremely versatile for a wide range of industries."

While the intended purpose of the glove might not strictly be for gaming, we can see how it could make our favorite VR experiences all the more immersive. Picking up delicate objects can feel downright clunky in VR games. The ability to feel the difference between textures could allow for better looting. We'd like to really feel the swing of a sword or the pull of a bowstring in Skyrim. A more tactile VR experience could also make stopping to pet all the virtual pooches more worth it.

Interested in really feeling the VR experience? The Tesla Glove will be getting into players' hands at CES 2020 on Jan. 7. Expect more information, and important first impressions, after this big debut.