Sparse Haptic Proxy: Touch Feedback In Virtual Environments

Microsoft Research researchers—Eyal Ofek, Christian Holz, Hrvoje Benko, and Andy Wilson, along with Lung-Pan Chen, a visiting intern from HPI, Germany—has proposed a solution that can help us feel our environment while in VR. The authors built a system that tricks your senses by redirecting your hands, such that whenever you see yourself touching a virtual object, your hands are actually touching a physical geometry. Such a technology has the potential to make virtual worlds come alive in a tactile way.