Raphael Thys
Mark Zuckerberg showing his 'metaverse' avatar during Connect 2021 Facebook
- Mark Zuckerberg posted a video of a device in development for the metaverse.
- Haptic gloves would let people feel things like pressure and texture when touching virtual objects.
- The clip shows Zuckerberg using the gloves to virtually roll dice, play chess, and shake hands.
- For more stories go to www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
Mark Zuckerberg has been spotted wearing a VR headset many times before to see things in virtual reality.
Now, a new video shows the CEO of Facebook, now Meta, feeling objects in virtual reality, thanks to technology being developed to bring touch to the metaverse.
Zuckerberg posted a video on Tuesday that shows him trying out "haptic gloves" to do things like virtually roll dice, play Jenga, and chess, shake hands, and fist-bump.
"Meta's Reality Labs team is working on haptic gloves to create a realistic sense of touch in the metaverse," he captioned the video. "One day you'll be able to feel texture and pressure when you touch virtual objects.
The gloves track the wearer's hands to determine where the person's hands are in a virtual reality scene and if and how they may be in contact with a virtual object, according to a Meta news release issued on Tuesday. The gloves then simulate sensations like pressure, texture, and vibration to recreate the feeling of objects in virtual reality.
The company has been working on the gloves for seven years, noting in the release that the project "started as a moonshot, but it's increasingly feasible as we continue to innovate and complete research."
"Building these gloves is a challenge that requires inventing entirely new domains of scientific research," the release says. "While we're still in the early stages of this research, the goal is to one day pair the gloves with your VR headset for an immersive experience like playing in a concert or poker game in the metaverse, and eventually they'd work with your AR glasses.
A separate video, posted on Meta's official Facebook page on Monday, also shows the haptic gloves in action. In the clip, a person virtually throws and catches a ball and joins another person in virtual reality to play games like Jenga and thumb war.
You can watch Zuckerberg's full video here.