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The long-awaited novelty in the VR market -

a disappointment or a breakthrough?

Experience of use by the District XR company,

meeting expectations and reality

The long-awaited novelty in the VR market - a disappointment or a breakthrough?

Experience of use by the District XR company,

meeting expectations and reality

Hello everyone, the District team is in touch! We love creating projects in VR and testing different technological innovations. If you are passionate about this as much as we are, then this article will definitely appeal to you.
Last year, we were the very first to test the latest model
of controllers from Sense Glove.
And, of course, we have prepared a short review for you.
Last year, we were the very first to test the latest model
of controllers from Sense Glove.
And, of course, we have prepared a short review for you.
Today we will talk about the functions of the controllers, the possibilities that they give to your projects and whether our expectations from the purchase were justified.
At the end of the article, we will definitely share how we plan to use this device.
We love to buy different equipment, test it in the projects we have already created, and come up with future use cases, so we have been following Sense Glove products for
a long time. This company makes devices that help track hands and body in virtual reality. One of the latest and most "high-profile" developments was the Senseglove DK3 gloves.
Sense Glove has already produced similar devices and the entire product line has a variety of characteristics. For our future project, which we will talk about in this article, the latest version of the gloves suited us the most. This model differs significantly from previous models in assembly, technical capabilities and can be useful to us and our partners. That is why, as soon as we learned about the readiness of this device, we decided not to hesitate and immediately placed an order.

Our expectations were shaped by the excellent Sense Glove marketing campaign.

Here is what the manufacturer promised us:

Our expectations were shaped by the excellent Sense Glove marketing campaign.

Here is what the manufacturer promised us:

  • Open device code to be able to program glove applications on Unity, Unreal Engine, C++ and Android engines
  • Excellent accuracy and speed of device tracking in virtual reality thanks to 8 sensors placed on the fingers
  • Ability to work with the smallest objects in VR
  • Easy-to-use gloves that fit comfortably on the hand
  • Maximum transfer of sensations for the complete immersion of the user in the virtual environment

Sounds great! Is it really so?

Sounds great! Is it really so?

We received a case containing a pair of long-awaited gloves. The packaging was secure and nothing was damaged in transit. Together with the device in the box there are mounts for controllers, cords for connecting, charging and a key for fine-tuning the device.
Senseglove DK3 consist of gloves, on the fingers of which volumetric plastic sectors are attached, interconnected by threads. This design can control every part of the hand and phalanges of the fingers. Fitting the equipment showed that the device sits perfectly on larger hands, but if the hands are smaller, then when the fingers are bent,
a backlash is formed, due to which the feedback may be delayed.

Technically, the device is not difficult to connect via Bluetooth. In a virtual environment, gloves do not have a tracking function, so using special mounts you need to place your VR helmet controller on top.
The most important thing that we wanted to understand when testing the equipment was the correspondence of sensations to the picture that we see and the quality of the device’s response to movements in VR. We interacted with objects of different materials and sizes. Gloves feel the shape of any object well due to the fact that the device limits the length of the threads and stops the fingers in those places where they touch the boundaries of the object used. However, this technology has a small drawback: due to the rigid fixation of the fingers, it is impossible to feel the elasticity
of objects. The device is very interesting and we plan to continue working with SenseGlove gloves, using the high competence of our programming team.
The District XR team has done some interesting research using this device.

Let's talk about one of the experiments below.

The District XR team has done some interesting research using this device.

Let's talk about one of the experiments below.

Along with the development of VR simulators for industry, our team is very actively exploring the scope of VR in other industries. One of our priorities is medicine, where virtual reality and immersive technologies are becoming elements of modern treatment methods that complement classical approaches and increase efficiency.
In partnership with SenseGlove, the District XR team began building a project aimed at
to accelerate the rate of recovery of patients, in particular the motor functions of the hands after severe injuries.

The recovery of such patients is a complex, multi-step process, and we set the goal of our pilot project to test the possibility of using new technologies, to speed up and simplify the recovery path.

Nicholas
CEO
Our main task was to create a digital space, simulate a Lego set in it and test the effectiveness of patient recovery in practice.

Starting development, we understood that classic controllers would not suit us. There is not a lot of equipment relevant for this project on the VR device market right now. That's why we chose the SenseGlove DK3 gloves.

Virtual reality allows you to create various scenarios, and gloves provide accuracy and good speed of tracking the device in the digital space thanks to 8 sensors placed on the fingers. This opens up a wide field of possibilities in the digital environment because the patient can interact with the smallest objects in VR. In addition, the Senseglove DK3 is equipped with haptic feedback, which enhances the transmission
of sensations for a complete immersion of the patient in the virtual environment.
It is these functionalities that allow the patient to execute the developed scenario and literally feel the object with which he interacts. The main advantage of this training is that we can tailor the complexity of the scenario individually to the progress of each patient. It is also important that gloves help to safely and easily repeat the scenario indefinitely, simulate any situation, even the most unrealistic one, and the organization does not need to buy new items for training.

At the first stage, we created a small pilot demo scenario, which we will further develop with the support of traumatologists

At the first stage, we created a small pilot demo scenario, which we will further develop with the support of traumatologists

Our product can be developed in many areas of rehabilitation medicine and apply our technological capabilities to ready-made practical recovery methods. Strengthening classical medicine with modern digital capabilities will help people develop more effectively disabled.

In the future, we plan to integrate new available technologies and equipment
to complement existing medical practices.