Ziginformatica.com Website Review

software engineers and developers around the world are seeking to create technology that allows users touch, hold, and manipulate virtual objects as they feel they are actually playing something in the real world. Scientists at EPFL and ETH Zurich have just given an important step toward that goal with its new haptic glove, which is not only lightweight - less than 8 grams per finger - but also provides an extremely realistic feedback. The glove is capable of generating up to 40 Newtons of sustaining force on each finger with only 200 volts and only a few milliWatts of power. It also has the potential to run on a very small battery. This, coupled with the low glove shape factor (only 2 mm thick), translates to an unprecedented level of precision and freedom of movement. We wanted to develop a lightweight device that - unlike existing virtual reality gloves - does not require bulky exoskeleton, very thick cables or pumps, said Herbert Shea, head of Soft Transducers Laboratory of EPFL (LMTS). The glove of scientists, called DextrES was successfully tested on volunteers in Zurich and will be presented at the next ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST). Dextres is made of nylon with thin elastic metal st*ips that run through the fingers. The st*ips are separated by a thin insulation. When the user's fingers come into contact with a virtual object, the controller applies a voltage difference between the metal bands, causing them to join by electrostatic attraction - this produces a braking force that blocks finger or thumb. Once the tension is removed, the metal st*ips slide smoothly and the user can once again move the fingers freely. For now, the glove is powered by a very thin electric cable, but thanks to the low voltage and power required, a battery