SenseGlove, a developer of force feedback gloves for virtual reality (VR), has recently announced that it has partnered with British rail operator London North Eastern Railway (LNER) to provide VR training solutions that teach railroad staff how to assemble train ramps in an immersive environment accompanied by haptic feedback.
Using SenseGlove’s ‘Nova’ haptic force-feedback glove, designed specifically for professional VR training purposes. London North Eastern Railway (LNER) implemented SenseGlove Nova for a training solution for its railroad staff, showing them how to assemble a train ramp in virtual reality. They used the haptic force feedback gloves to improve the realism of the interactions in VR and to train employees more efficiently by using haptic gloves instead of just using controllers.
Assembly trainees who donned SenseGlove Nova haptic force feedback gloves in the virtual environment were able to physically feel the ramp in a more realistic way by grabbing, moving, holding, squeezing virtual parts, which allowed them to explore the details of the ramp and interact with required tools in a natural way.
According to SenseGlove, the results of a case study conducted in cooperation with LNER showed that 90% of participants who completed the haptics training indicated that they felt ready to assemble a ramp in real life and did not need any further training.
The wireless SenseGlove Nova features a flexible form-factor in combination with haptic and hand tracking technologies that enable users to feel size, density, stiffness, impacts and resistance in VR. Nova’s touch-enabling technology can be used for a variety of VR training programs, such as training to handle hazardous materials, carrying out complex tasks with multiple tools and objects, learning to design and test physical prototypes.
SenseGlove added that features play an especially important role for assembly training, since force-feedback gloves allow wearers to feel the parts of equipment that need to be assembled as well as ascertain the difference between the sizes and densities of different parts. Furthermore, trainees can feel every impact when they connect or insert parts, as well as vibration when they work with tools such as drilling machines, thanks to Nova’s vibrotactile feedback.
SenseGlove launched its inaugural haptic feedback glove, the DK1 in 2018, and the second iteration, the SenseGlove Nova at CES 2021. According to the company, its products have since been purchased and applied by more than 300 corporations and institutions, including Volkswagen, the European Space Agency, the Royal Dutch Army, Airbus, Scania, Procter & Gamble, Siemens, Cambridge University and Fraunhofer.
For more information on SenseGlove and its haptic solutions for virtual reality, please visit the company’s website.
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Image / video credit: SenseGlove / YouTube
