NullSpace VR are a startup formed from Rochester University Robotics Club who are building a haptic suit and gloves they claim will allow you to feel your virtual worlds.

So, as virtual reality approaches it’s first milestone to technological maturity, VR input solutions are coming thick and fast and VR headset displays are (at present) a known quantity, what will be missing from our virtual reality experiences come the consumer Vr revolution next year? Feedback from the virtual world you’re inhabiting of course.

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NullSpace VR are attempting to tackle that apparent hole in the virtual experience by building a full upper-body haptic suit and gloves which promise to let you feel the VR world pushing back. The suit is comprised of 32 ‘vibration pads’ situated both in the chest-based harness, fingers of the glove and straps on our arms.

nullspacevr-2In addtion to this, NullSpace VR offers input via inertial sensors and ‘fine grained’ gesture input too. It’s not clear at this stage precisely how the inertial input or (perhaps more interestingly) gesture input is tracked, but it is clear the system will require direct software support in order to work as intended.

Therefore, the NullSpace VR team have now opened their doors to developers, asking interested parties to download their software API, which will hold the keys for games and applications to integrate with the suit.

The lack of 1:1 precision in the inertial tracking portion of the tech specs worries us a little, but the idea of of getting that feedback from your virtual environment is extremely appealing and thus far, this startup has this hardware space largely to itself, with the exception of the disappointing Kor-FX Vest perhaps. We look forward to hearing more from NullSpace VR in the future.

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Paul James
Based in the UK, Paul has been immersed in interactive entertainment for the best part of 27 years and has followed advances in gaming with a passionate fervour. His obsession with graphical fidelity over the years has had him branded a ‘graphics whore’ (which he views as the highest compliment) more than once and he holds a particular candle for the dream of the ultimate immersive gaming experience. Having followed and been disappointed by the original VR explosion of the 90s, he then founded RiftVR.com to follow the new and exciting prospect of the rebirth of VR in products like the Oculus Rift. Paul joined forces with Ben to help build the new Road to VR in preparation for what he sees as VR’s coming of age over the next few years.
  • minswho

    *University of Rochester

  • You guys forgot about the ARAIG too, even though they don’t communicate a lot, they’re still working

  • Justin
  • Paul Donovan

    Gestures aren’t all that tough. Think nintendo powerglove (an early attempt, the basic concept of which is actually still in use). I created a POC of a gesture-based music controller using cotton gloves, flex potentiometers and an Arduino microcontroller. It’s up on youtube. I was just clowning around and it didn’t take long, so achieving the same thing with a concerted development effort is no big deal.