Virtual and augmented reality technology (VR/AR) is changing the way we live — for the better. Whether it’s quality of life, gaming, learning, teaching, engineering, or even training for dangerous occupations, VR/AR devices are shaping the future — here in the present.
Many of these life-altering technologies were on hand at CES 2023 , which featured more than 3,200 exhibitors.
Below are 10 such technologies from this latest iteration of CES.
Skinetic, from Actronika
A haptic vest, Skinetic aims to allow wearers to encounter all life-like events occurring in a virtual world. The vest is equipped with 20 voice-coil motors around the torso, which allow for the emulation of infinite sensations. It also doles out localized sensations and can track the wearer in real time for realistic haptic feedback.
Onyx, from DigiLens
Built atop DigiLens’ holographic waveguide and micro-projection technologies, Onyx aims to offer a full XR experience in the form of glasses — see-through, all-in-one, binocular smartglasses with a center camera with optical/electronic image stabilization suitable for indoor and outdoor use.
Contact Glove, from Diver-X
Contact Glove — the first haptic VR controller in glove form that uses micro coils with shape memory alloys to provide tactile feedback — aims to provide a realistic sense of touch in a compact size. Contact Glove aims to enhance VR gaming experiences as well as metaverse communications.
Dot Pad, from Dot Incorporation
The first tactile graphic device for the visually impaired, the Dot Pad — a 2023 Best of Innovation Award winner — boasts 320 8-pin cells in which 300 cells (2,400-pins) are for the tactile display and 20 are for braille-text. The portable device displays images, graphics, and charts in tactile form, and, when fully charged, its battery lasts 11 hours.
Leica BLK360, from Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon
Originally introduced in 2016, the new Leica BLK360 — the fastest, lightest, and most comprehensive handheld reality capture product on the market today — offers a way to capture a space in the easiest manner while making volumes of scan data easy to view, edit, and share.
Project Chronos, from Lenovo
Powered by the 13th Gen Intel Core processor, Project Chronos offers a glasses-free, full-body experience that aims to enable users to virtually control their avatar — sans any motion-capture wearable — in the metaverse. The user’s movement is captured by an advanced RGB depth camera and replicated in a chosen 3D environment and displayed on a screen.
Surplex, from Surplex - Shenzhen Qianhai Xiangfang Future Technology Co., Ltd
A VR full-body tracker hidden inside a pair of shoes, Surplex boasts 480 pressure sensors and two IMUs. It can accurately track the tiniest of body movements sans cords and straps.
ThermoReal_F1, from TEGWAY Inc. Ltd.
ThermoReal_F1, a VR training suit with hyper-realism, delivers a safe and cost-effective training method for firefighters. It enables the wearer to take live fire training into the classroom — including the heat that comes with the job — and even reduces carbon emissions and water consumption.
ARwords, from Woongjin Thinkbig
ARwords — a paper book capable of interacting with digital contents and AR technology — aims for a beyond-the-pages reading experience. Its camera sees the book’s image and paper markers to generate AR interaction.
3D LiDAR Spatial Management Platform, from WATA Inc.
WATA aims to solve safety, logistics, and process management problems existing in industrial sites via 3D LiDAR-based real-time map generation, object recognition, semantic segmentation, and optimized industrial 3D point cloud dataset generation technology.