The Oculus research laboratory, led by Michael Abrash, has registered a patent for what could become a future new controller.
A new patent has appeared, reported by UploadVR, in which Oculus it has registered a control system that uses anisotropic tissue materials as input interfaces. An anisotropic material is one whose mechanical properties vary in different directions. Below we can read the official description that appears in the patent:
“A control for a virtual reality system consisting of one or more materials, with different rigidities and in different positions of the control, that come into contact with the user’s body. In various embodiments, portions of the control that contact an área of the body having a relatively limited range of motion utilize rigid tissue material to limit the movement of the control. In contrast, those that come into contact with an area of the body that has a relatively greater range of motion, use a soft tissue material to allow the control to move more easily when the corresponding area of the user’s body is moved.”
From the description we do not know well what kind of characteristics this type of fabric could implement, if they would only serve us to position our hands or other parts in the virtual world or if it would be able to offer us haptic sensations thanks to the different rigidities of the materials used. The glove that Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, tried on during his visit to the Oculus research laboratory, could be a preview of this new controller, although we do not know if this will be used in any product. What is clear is that Oculus continues to investigate new forms of control for virtual reality.
