SenseGlove is working on a “low-cost” force-feedback glove for VR
Haptics is a very important part of virtual reality, and while we wait for consumer solutions arriving in some years, for now, the market is dominated by enterprise solutions like the amazing Dexmo Gloves or HaptX Gloves. These solutions are high-performant, but also incredibly expensive, and only big enterprises can afford them.
A Dutch company called Senseglove wants to change that, offering a force feedback glove for VR made in plastic with a price that is still high, but that can be affordable for small and medium companies. SenseGlove has received some weeks ago a big investment, and I had the pleasure of speaking with its COO Niels Bogerd about their product and their goals.
Here you are my interview:
Hello Niels, introduce yourself to my readers!
I’m Niels, COO of SenseGlove. We are a Dutch Startup enabling natural interactions in XR by adding the sensation of touch. In fact, I was such a believer in SenseGlove, that I’m not only COO but also an angel investor in the company.
As COO, I’m responsible for the daily operations of SenseGlove. We carry out projects with our excellent partners like Volkswagen, University of Cambridge, and the Dutch armed forces. I am also responsible for the efficient production of our product, the SenseGlove Development Kit (DK), currently available for researchers, companies, and consumers.
Tell us about your project SenseGlove!
SenseGlove enables tactile XR. Our goal is to add the most essential sensations of haptics — force and vibrotactile feedback — to let users interact within XR space much as they would in real life. We believe that this is not limited to our current business-centric use-cases, but that we make this accessible across XR.
How does it work? How does it provide force feedback?
The SenseGlove creates resistive force feedback through magnetic friction brakes. Each brake is dedicated to a single finger and delivers up to 40N of force. This patented system transfers the force to the fingertips through mechanical wires. This mechanism is inspired by human biology, and how tendons apply muscle force to the fingers.
And how does it provide tactile sensations?
In the current SenseGlove DK, each fingertip has its own vibrotactile actuator. Besides these fingertip actuators, there is one large vibrotactile motor located in the hub, that we call the “thumper.” The finger feedback contributes to button clicks and localized contact mechanics. The thumper creates whole hand feedback — such as hitting your hand against a table.
With these actuators working in conjunction with our force feedback, SenseGlove can generate a large variety of tactile effects, contributing to an immersive experience while working with the SenseGlove. We built SenseGlove around our force feedback mechanism. Still, much of our current research is on cutting edge vibrotactile feedback actuators, So you can expect more possibilities in our future products.
What are the differences between SenseGlove and other competitors on the market like Dexmo Gloves or HaptX Gloves?
SenseGlove comes at haptics in a radically different way than our competitors. We prioritize creating an immersive experience over creating a realistic one. We believe that intuitive interactions — one’s the user can experience without having to think — create a more compelling XR experience than one that directly attempts to mimic the real world.
Rather than create noisy, high fidelity realism in 3D, we design our hardware around a philosophy of haptic cueing. We offer a lightweight, cost-effective force and vibrotactile feedback system which conveys the minimum information needed for intuitive interaction with the virtual world. We want our users to experience crisp, clear, and compelling feedback, rather than devoting brainpower to interpreting an overwhelming amount of sub-optimal feedback.
Our force-feedback system has no gears inside, making it fast, quiet, and without backlash. This makes our technology accessible for every professional VR use-case. The SenseGlove DK is priced at € 2999, and we have already sold in the hundreds of them. Also, this allows SenseGlove to move away from an exoskeleton form factor.
It is all made in plastic… it seems 3D printed. Is it solid enough?
In fact, all SenseGlove parts are injection molded and made out of ABS, the same production and plastic used in most consumer goods. The glove is quite robust. It won’t survive being run over by a real-world car, but definitely is strong enough to let you design a virtual one! We have several customers using the SenseGlove DK during fairs and exhibitions, giving hundreds of people VR experiences with little to no failures.
What are your typical customers?
SenseGlove customers can be divided into three different groups. The first group is corporate clients such as Volkswagen, for whom we increase the results of VR training by adding immersive haptic interactions. We also shorten their design cycles by adding the critical component of touch to virtual/digital prototypes. The second group is XR studios, who are exploring similar use-cases for their own corporate clients. The third group of clients is research organizations like Fraunhofer and the University of Cambridge, whose research is also commonly based on industry input.
What is the feature of SenseGlove you are most proud of?
Obviously, our force-feedback system: SenseGlove is the first commercially available force-feedback glove that was priced below € 5000. We think the force feedback is the best on the market, as do our partners, and most people who get their hands inside the DK.
What are the difficulties that you have found in developing it and how have you solved them?
We already had a first working prototype back in 2016. However, scaling from a prototype to something that can be sold in units of hundreds was our biggest hurdle. We developed our current, reliable SenseGlove DK a closed loop agile development cycle. We are now selling revision 1.3, incorporating the lessons learned from our own development, and our conversations with our partners. We aim to meet the needs of our clients and make sure to include them early in our hardware development approach.
What would you advise people that want to become VR entrepreneurs like you?
The XR space is only going to grow. We think that VR and AR will radically change the world and that it will require new products and approaches to work! It’s no question that AR/VR developers are a very in-demand commodity. This is something that we reminded of by each client. They often request our simulation development services. There is some great potential in this space.
The COVID-19 crisis only underscores this need. Businesses and people are looking for new ways to communicate, collaborate, and function. XR is definitely going to be something one people’s minds on the far side of this outbreak. I suppose the core of my advice is this: the short term might be challenging, but never give up!
I’ve heard you just got a big investment. How do you plan spending this money? What are the plans for the future?
We just raised a typical Series A. We now have the commitment from two well-established venture capital funds. Besides the financial injection, the VCs are also giving us access to their extensive entrepreneurial experience.
We are currently maturing SenseGlove and scaling up our development and production. A small secret is that we are also working on a more user-friendly, lower-cost version of our SenseGlove, specially designed to train large groups of non-expert users in VR. Of course, this glove will include our force feedback and tactile feedback. Companies interested in an early access program should reach out to us for early beta access.
How can people buy SenseGlove and what is its cost?
The SenseGlove DK1 (one pair of two gloves) can be purchased for € 2999, and for another € 999 you will get a full year of warranty. SenseGlove can also be wireless: A wireless pack consisting of an external battery and wireless communication can be purchased for € 499 per set. It can be ordered online at: https://www.senseglove.com/packs-and-prices
As you can see, Senseglove is working on an amazing project. €2999 is still a high price, but it is very low if compared to the other solutions in the market. And what has amazed me more is discovering that they’re working on an even lower-cost glove! If you may be interested in this kind of solutions, please reach out to Senseglove to buy it, or directly to me if you also need someone to implement the software you need.
Unluckily I haven’t been able to try the SenseGlove yet, so I can’t compare it with the Dexmo gloves, that I have instead tried in China. But I’m very curious to do it so that I can make a real comparison for you all. I hope to be able to do that when the lockdown finishes. My general impression from the pictures and videos is that the product is a bit simpler than the one produced by the Chinese company, but at the same time it is also much cheaper, and this can represent a good compromise for small companies and makers.
For now, I just thank Niels for its availability. And I ask you: what do you think of Senseglove? Is it something you may be interested in? Let me know in the comments or on my social media channels!
And don’t forget to donate on Patreon to let me keep publishing these interesting interviews to VR people…
(Header image by SenseGlove)
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