We’re expecting hands-on time with a lot of new VR headsets at GDC 2019 next week. But Tactical Haptics will be offering a look at its latest design for its VR controllers, too.
In a Kickstarter update from last week the company confirmed it will be at this year’s show. Not only that, but it will be bringing the production-ready design along with it. The company reasoned that this was mainly for business development meetings but we’re hoping to get a look at them too.
“We’re looking to establish partnerships with location-based entertainment (LBE) VR system integrators as well as non-gaming partners,” the company explained.
Tactical Haptics offers a pair of motion-tracked VR controllers. Each includes three metal plates that shift around as you use them. The aim is to provide more convincing haptic feedback in VR, replicating the shift in weight and pressure you’d feel when, say, opening a door or picking up an object.
They controllers hold a lot of promise, but they’ve been a long time coming. The original (unsuccessful) Kickstarter for the devices first ran in 2013. The company kept working on the product, debuting new designs at CES last year.
In the Kickstarter comments section, the company addressed the long time it’s taken to get to this point. “Part of what has taken a long time is as we’ve made the hardware simpler, the software has had to become more complex,” Tactical Haptics wrote. “Now the software development has almost caught up again with the hardware.”
As for future funding, the company says it probably won’t relaunch a new Kickstarter but has “other plans” it will discuss soon.
