Spending on virtual and augmented reality hardware, systems, and applications will exceed $20 billion during 2019, according to a 2018 IDC report. Games and consumer video viewing continue as the AR/VR application front runners, but industrial, commercial, maintenance, education and training, and retail applications will account for most of the growth during the next five years. We’ve written about AR/VR applications in healthcare, particularly in pain management. Most current AR/VR applications rely solely on sight and hearing. Adding the sense of touch could expand engagement significantly across a wide range of applications.

Berkeley, California-based BeBop Sensors recently introduced an upgraded version of the Forte Wireless Data Glove. The new Forte Data Glove Enterprise Edition uses real-time haptic feedback to transmit a sense of textures and surfaces. Users can move and manipulate digital objects with the glove with feedback from a sense of touch. The glove has 10 smart fabric bend sensors above each knuckle and six haptic actuators on the fingers, thumb, and palm. The bend sensors respond in under 6 milliseconds for accurate, precise tactile feedback. The glove operates for a full working day after charging the onboard battery for two hours.

According to BeBop Sensors CEO and founder Keith McMillen, the new glove, which is available now, advances AR and VR for practical daily enterprise applications, including training, medical, architectural, manufacturing, robotics, and drones. We’ve written about BeBop Sensors’ technology in fabric, helmets, and shoe insoles in the past. The addition of haptic feedback will make the technology even more valuable for health-related applications.