For my masters project, I was part of team consisting of two other mechanical engineering students to create a wearable haptic feedback system for virtual reality applications. As the team's communication and design lead, I headed the conceptualization and prototyping of the device, resulting in a functioning product to showcase on demo day.
Based on a user survey conducted by my team, it was revealed that more than 50% of current users experience difficulties with VR controllers. Moreover, over 60% of potential customers are deterred by the cost of VR, which can cost over $4,500 when incorporating haptic feedback.
To address this, we created SimFeel to replace the controllers and bring the sense of touch to VR at an affordable price. By utilizing off-the-shelf materials, such as flexible sensors, coin motors, and an Arduino, we were able to keep the cost to below $100. The device's functionality was also easy to understand for new users: while wearing SimFeel, a more dramatic bend in the fingers resulted in a stronger vibration at the tip of the fingers. This linear relationship made it seem so that the user felt something in their hands when grabbing an object in the VR world despite nothing being there in the real world. In addition to the more immersive experience for the user, we added Bluetooth capabilities and had the entire device run off a 5V battery source, making it easier to communicate with the software while being a safer and more portable device.
In addition to the market research and the user survey mentioned earlier, the team conducted two separate user tests to make the device more human-centered. The first test asked five participants to bend each finger and try different hand gestures while wearing SimFeel. This allowed us to measure the maximum readings of the flex sensors so that we could make the vibrations more comfortable and distinguishable. The second test involved a controller wearing SimFeel and a participant wearing a variation that mimicked the vibrations felt by the controller via Bluetooth. The controller bent their finger in a specific sequence, and the participant was asked to identify the order that the fingers were being bent while relying only on their sense of touch. With 13 of the 15 participants getting all three sequences correct, we demonstrated SimFeel's ability to send reliable signals as well as the potential to communicate between the virtual (controller) and real (participant) worlds.