CHINA TOPIX

11/23/2024 11:33:02 am

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'Exoglove' Lets Users Touch Virtual Objects

The Dexmo Classic and the Dexmo F2

(Photo : Dexta Robotics)

Chinese company Dexta has developed an "exoglove" called Dexmo, a device that was designed to motion-capture the user's hand movements and lets the wearer feel the digital objects in the virtual environment.

The gadget, which is trying to get capital on fund-raising site Kickstarter, looks like some form of odd, science-fiction torture tool that is worn by the user over one's hand and straps around the wearer's fingertips and palm, according to CNET's Michelle Star.

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The Dexmo Classic, the lower-end version of the device, records 11 degrees of hand motion -- the split and bend of four fingers and three degrees for the movement of the thumb. An inertial measurement unit also lets the gadget orient its position with regards to the X,Y and Z axes.

The higher-end model, the Dexmo F2, is a device that goes into the tactile territory. The F2 offers force feedback, a kind of force that the senses register as physical feedback, to the tips of the index finger and thumb. As a result, when the wearer touches an object in the virtual world, the user will feel a corresponding pressure on one's fingertip.

The effect is caused by creating a force on the fingertip by breaking the joint of the specific finger on the glove.

"Dexmo can be used for controlling a robotic hand, also providing you with a better sense of presence by simulating a force feedback when an object is hit, or controlling a robotic arm, or something a little bit more advanced, like controlling double robotic arms performing a remote bomb disposal task," the Dexta Robotics team wrote.

The creators also demonstrated how their invention could be utilized as a hacking tool for remote-controlled devices. The Dexmo models can be used to control devices found in a smart home, such as lighting.

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