From exo-claws for your forearms to vests for your entire upper body, haptic feedback devices run the gauntlet when it comes to different ways to further immerse players in virtual worlds. H2L (Happy Hacking Life), a Tokyo-based company that specializes in VR/AR related to gaming and tourism, has engineered a haptic device of their own and it is surprisingly low-profile. The UnlimitedHand is a small device that straps to your forearm and not only gives feedback but measures the movement of muscles for input as well.
H2L raised funding recently by allocating shares to Energy & Environment Investment and the Sony Innovation Fund. Via these transactions, they acquired what comes out to just under $1.8 million. H2L has spent R&D on PosessedHand, a tool that allows researchers to control human hands with different stimuli, but their UnlimitedHand technology will be receiving the majority of the benefits from these funds. In a prepared statement, the company said it will make “full use of the received funding to push development and business expansion in the VR/AR field, with the aim of setting world standards for gesture input/output interfaces”.
The Japanese startup already has a couple solid forces behind them and, if they garner even more interest from companies, their UnlimitedHand solution could steer the haptic conversation that continues to gain steam when it comes to VR.
