Innovators are set to revolutionize the metaverse experience with mouth haptic technology for virtual reality.

Diving into a virtual reality (VR) experience can often be quite disorienting. You may feel a strange sense of displacement, and many first-time players find that the unusual ranges of movement available in VR can even give rise to a mild sense of unease. Nonetheless, the human brain is remarkably adaptable, and most individuals manage to shake off initial discomfort fairly quickly, enabling them to enjoy games or content. After all, the experience has thus far been predominantly visual.

Or, at least, it used to be focused just on visuals. But that perspective is about to shift drastically. Researchers from the Future Interfaces Group (FIG) at Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute have taken on a fascinating project. designed a way to feel sensations The research aims to stimulate sensations on the lips, teeth, and tongue in the world of virtual reality.

Haptic feedback is what truly transforms an experience into one that feels alive. Nowadays, this is primarily achieved through handheld controllers equipped with vibration motors, leaving users with the sensation of being disembodied entities in a digital landscape. The FIG team viewed the idea of extending haptic feedback to the whole body in a user-friendly manner as an exciting challenge. They decided to zero in on the mouth, positing that the lips aren't far behind fingertips in terms of sensitivity. This endeavor opened up, as stated in FIG’s abstract, “a distinct avenue for introducing nuanced haptic sensations.”

In their study, FIG engineers crafted ultra-miniature ultrasonic transducers designed to generate haptic effects for the mouth. They further integrated their face-vibrating prototype into a device that could easily pair with existing VR headsets. According to FIG, this innovation might pave the way for a brand new dimension of immersive haptic feedback in virtual reality adventures.

Picture this: a colossal spider launching drool-worthy venom at your lips. No kidding—this was part of one of FIG's more adventurous experiments—brave human participants who were ready to endure thrills and chills.In this VR scenario, users navigated through virtual spiderwebs until reaching a clearing. As they broke through the webs, they felt the virtual strands being pulled away from their faces. In an unexpected twist, the system then sent a virtual spider hurling towards the user’s mouth, simulating the sensation of a spider scampering across their lips. Thankfully, users had the opportunity to combat this virtual spider with a flare gun, leading to an explosive mess of spider goo that the haptic device ensured they could also perceive.

But don’t fret—other experiments were far more straightforward. Participants tried sipping water from a fountain, enjoying coffee breaks, or even puffing on a virtual cigarette. If you weren’t a smoker before getting splattered with phony spider remnants, there's a possibility you might be tempted afterward.

Some have noted One unforeseen application of the mouth-stimulating ultrasonic transducers, which wasn’t explicitly highlighted in Carnegie Mellon’s published findings, is in engaging in more intimate encounters. It’s pretty obvious that once this technology becomes mainstream, we might witness virtual romance that feels nearly realistic (at least until you pause to think about how you might appear to someone watching). Or, at the very least, some playful tongue hockey.

It may take some time for various elements of the VR experiments to shed their inherent creepiness. Yet in a world still navigating through the aftermath of a pandemic, the ability to engage in both playful and mundane activities in a virtual setting appears far more enticing than it may have three years ago.

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