Our sense of touch connects us to the world around us and is an integral part of how we experience things, both physically and emotionally. Games have incorporated increasingly sophisticated graphics and sound design, but none have added realistic touch. In the past, the expense of 3D touch (haptic) hardware made the technology cost-prohibitive, but the Novint Falcon and the Novint Xio, which are, in essence, small robots, are designed to be affordable consumer devices. The Falcon and the Xio allow players to feel weight, shape, texture, dimension, dynamics and force feedback, performing comparably to commercial devices that cost thousands of dollars. Using these devices, players feel a character’s actions instead of controlling a game through mouse clicks or meters. Players feel the weight of a basketball as they shoot it towards a hoop – the momentum and impact as they swing a virtual golf club and strike a ball – the recoil of a weapon – or the characteristics of virtual objects and environments, making gameplay more natural and realistic.
Novint is uniquely qualified to bring this revolutionary technology to market. As a leading developer of commercial touch applications, Novint has worked with clients including Lockheed Martin, Chrysler, Chevron, Mobil, Aramco, and Harvard University. Novint has developed the only low-cost (sub $1000) high-fidelity hardware solution available for consumer or commercial haptic applications.
