UNIST develops world‘s 1st all-in-one VR gloves with heat, vibration, motion controls

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology said Monday it has developed the world’s first virtual reality gloves with heat, vibration and motion controls all integrated together.

According to UNIST, the VR gloves track angles of two joints on each of the fingers in real-time and reflect the changes on the display. Also, the gloves can feel subtle vibrations and temperatures.

“If a user grabs an item inside hot water, a sudden change of temperature will be delivered realistically through the gloves,” a UNIST official said.

To enable three functions at the same time without any interference, Professor Bae Joon-bum utilized the “liquid metal printing” technology. The sensors, heaters and electric wires were drawn with precision and thinness with the technology.

The study made the cover of the Sept. 24 edition of leading science journal Advance Functional Materials.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)