TACTICAL HAPTICS RECONFIGURABLE HAPTIC CONTROLLERS AT GDC 2018
San Francisco, California, USA – March 21, 2018 – Tactical Haptics is showing its newly developed reconfigurable haptic controllers and game content at the 2018 Game Developers Conference (GDC). First shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, this new design adds the ability to reconfigure and join the haptic controllers together on-the-fly to transform the user’s virtual reality (VR) interaction to match their in-real-life (IRL) hand/controller configuration (see controller images). The reconfigurable controller design is in combination with their controller’s revamped haptic feedback design.
The reconfigurable controllers are designed to allow them to be used independently or to combine together to form common two-handed device configurations, such as a game-pad, steering wheel, or machine-gun pose. Mechanical+magnetic sockets provide connect-points on each of the controllers to form semi-rigid connections between the controllers. This allows users to transform their VR interactions by acting out their intended actions with their hands as opposed to clicking a button – keeping them immersed in the VR experience. The controllers currently use 3rd party tracking while in the dev kit stage and has tracker mounts for both Oculus Touch and Vive Tracker currently.
As with their prior haptic controllers, the company’s unique brand of touch feedback is created by applying friction and shear forces through actuated plates on the surface of controller handle, which creates tactile illusions of inertia, elasticity, impact, etc, when these shear forces are applied in response to the user’s actions.
The company has made several usability improvements on their new “Space-based Colony Defense” game since CES. The colony-defense game highlights the capabilities of its new reconfigurable controllers. This game equips the player with a jetpack and several weapons/tools to defend the space colony against incoming waves of space insects. The game features both building and combat interaction, similar in spirit to strategy games like Starcraft, but with more of a first-person and hands-on feel. For example, the GDC gameplay begins by having the player toggle their weapon from a blaster to a physics gun, and flying to their base to assemble and reposition a gun turret to defend the base. Then game play begins after mating the controllers in a fore-aft configuration to form an assault rifle. And as expected with our haptic controllers, the player can feel the thrust of the jetpack, kick of the gun, and heft of each piece of the turret as well as the snap as the turret pieces are assembled into place.
The company will also show an improved version of its brick breaker VR game called “Cyber Smash” that allows the user to clear levels of blocks, while feeling the inertia of throwing smash-balls and the settling of the ball after it rebounds and is caught by the player (see image). The company will also be working on multiplayer versions of these games, as part of its near term refocusing on location-based entertainment (LBE). The company is seeking partnering opportunities with LBEs while at GDC.
Tactical Haptics will be exhibiting in the GDC Expo Hall, booth #2201 (front, right corner of Moscone South Hall).
About the company’s touch feedback:
The company’s advanced touch feedback works by mimicking the friction and shear forces that we feel in the real world when holding an object or touching a surface. The touch feedback system works by tracking the movements of the player’s hand (e.g., using a Vive Tracker, Oculus Touch, or Optitrack tracking system) and actuating small sliding plates on the surface of the grip-region of the controller to recreate the friction and shear forces that are naturally experienced when holding an actual object such as a baseball bat, slingshot, or fishing rod. In addition to gaming, this touch feedback could also be used in augmented reality, telerobotic interfaces for manufacturing and maintenance, industrial and construction operator interfaces, toys (e.g., light saber), pilot training interfaces, automotive navigation and safety systems, computer-aided design (CAD), education, laparoscopic or telerobotic surgery, rehabilitation, swing training, or to guide the blind.
For more information on the company’s touch feedback, please visit: http://tacticalhaptics.com/media/#NBCLearn
Link to press release: http://tacticalhaptics.com/gdc-2018-reconfigurable-haptic-controllers/
Link to high-resolution images: http://tacticalhaptics.com/pressImages/GDC2018/
Related Links:
Official Website: http://tacticalhaptics.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tacticalhaptics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tacticalhaptics
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TacticalHaptics/videos
About Tactical Haptics
Founded in 2013, Tactical Haptics is revolutionizing gaming in virtual reality (VR) with haptic game controllers that provide natural and intuitive touch feedback that completes the VR experience. Realistic touch feedback is a critical element for creating immersive experiences and is currently missing from virtual reality (VR) and video games. Tactical Haptics has developed innovative touch feedback that can be built into a game controller. The company’s unique touch feedback connects users to their gaming experience in a way that was never possible before, creating illusions of elasticity and inertia that isn’t possible with industry-standard Rumble (vibration) feedback. The company is currently seeking high-profile location-based entertainment (LBE) partners and manufacturing partners as it prepares its new controller design for production. The company is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Funding Acknowledgement
Tactical Haptics has been partially funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF), with the focus of creating their next generation haptic motion controller (IIP-1632341).
Media Contact:
William Provancher