The RGB of touch:
how TouchDIVER gloves bring tactile reality to VR and AR
Touch is one of the most complex and emotionally rich human senses. It’s how we how we feel the world, quite literally. And yet, it’s also one of the hardest senses to recreate in virtual environments. That’s why we built something that bridges that gap: the TouchDIVER, a haptic glove that replicates the full spectrum of tactile sensations: force feedback, thermal cues and texture rendering, as well as precise tracking.
How does touch work?
The human sense of touch is processed through a variety of receptors embedded in the skin. These receptors respond to different stimuli:
- Thermoreceptors detect heat and cold.
- Mechanoreceptors respond to pressure, stretch, and vibration.
- Proprioceptors give us awareness of position and movement.
Together, they send information to the brain, which interprets it as a coherent sensation. The experience of touching something warm, soft, rough, or rigid is the result of these signals working together, like instruments in an orchestra.
Rebuilding touch in Virtual Reality
Recreating this intricate system artificially requires more than a single trick. That’s why TouchDIVER gloves use thermal cues, force feedback and texture rendering, all supported by precise hand tracking. Each of these elements targets a specific aspect of touch:
- Force feedback resists or pulls your fingers, mimicking the presence and weight of physical objects.
- Texture rendering allows you to feel the fine details of a surface, from velvet softness to coarse grain.
- Thermal feedback simulates temperature, creating the sensation of warmth or coolness.
The RGB of touch
Think of these components as the RGB of tactile feedback.
In digital displays, red, green, and blue (RGB) combine to create every visible color. Separately, they’re just primary colors, but together, they form a rich, complete visual experience.
Similarly, thermal, force, and texture feedbacks are the primary channels of touch. On their own, each gives a piece of the puzzle. But when combined, they create a deeply realistic and immersive tactile experience. One where you don’t just see or hear the virtual world: with TouchDIVER gloves, you actually feel it.
