This novel wearable supplies touchless haptic suggestions for VR typing
— June twenty third, 2025
One motive that followers choose mechanical keyboards over membrane options is that mechanical key switches present a really noticeable tactile sensation in the meanwhile a key press registers. Whether or not consciously or not, customers discover that and cease urgent the important thing throughout the utmost journey — decreasing pressure and RSI potential. Developed by researchers at KAIST’s HCI Tech Lab, the UltraBoard is a novel wearable that gives related tactile suggestions whereas typing in digital actuality.
UltraBoard’s designers wished a tool appropriate for VR typing that would offer on-demand haptic suggestions sensations, with out sophisticated bodily actuators. They achieved that with an array of ultrasonic transducers that produce sturdy soundwaves that the consumer can really feel, however not hear. That array sits under the hand and might venture localized soundwaves focusing on particular factors. So, typing the letter “A” on a digital actuality keyboard would trigger the transducer array to blast soundwaves on the tip of the pinky finger.
An UltraBoard straps on to every of the consumer’s wrists and a servo motor close to the strap tilts the transducer array to match the wrist angle, guaranteeing that the array is all the time immediately beneath the consumer’s hand.
The prototype UltraBoard gadget makes use of each an Arduino Mega 2560 and an Arduino Micro board. They share duties, with the Micro controlling the servo motor and the transducer board, whereas the Mega controls an Ultraino driver board. They observe instructions from a related PC, which runs the digital actuality software program that the consumer interacts with via a digital actuality headset.
The outcomes of testing have been blended, however UltraBoard didn’t seem to supply a statistically important enchancment to typing pace. Even so, the idea is fascinating and additional testing might reveal different advantages, corresponding to a extra snug typing expertise.
Picture credit score: C. Park et al.
