Human sensations are formed through closed loop systems comprising of both an Input and an Output. The agenda for Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) research have been to simultaneously provide the two, modeling sensations recognizable by our Sensory System. Recent pursuits focus on devices that augment visual and auditory faculties. The hand, however, a part of the body that allows rich sensations and expressions to be articulated, deserve closer examination. We have developed “Unlimited Hand”, a wearable device granting a human hand access to virtual dimensions. The device reads hand movements with a hybrid set of motion sensors while triggering hand motions by exerting Electric Muscle Stimuli on the wearer’s forearm. This simultaneous exchange initiates a closed loop between human hand and computer. In this meeting, we will look into how this device is capable of providing new tactile experiences in multiple fields of applications.
Emi Tamaki is an Assistant Professor at Waseda University and the Co-Founder and Chief Researcher of H2L, Inc.
She is aiming to research and popularize VR(Virtual Reality) and AR(Augmented Reality) in the transmission of the tactile feeling and other sensations between computers and humans.
In 2010, Tamaki developed PossessedHand, a device to control human finger movements by a computer and wearable electrodes for experiencing the VR world. PossessedHand has drawn the attention of many scientific societies and has appeared on CNN and ABC TV. PossessedHand was also selected as one of Time magazine’s Best 50 Inventions. Tamaki received a Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo Graduate School in 2011. In the same year, she received the University of Tokyo President’s Award for Students and was the valedictorian of her class. In 2012, she started up a company, H2L, Inc. about tactile feeling with Ken Iwasaki and Tomy Kamada. In 2013, Tamaki resumed research activities at Waseda University. She was recently awarded the Woman of the Year Runner-up Prize in the Nikkei Woman. From 2013 she is working on a new device, UnlimitedHand that is the world’s first haptic controller in the VR game world. UnlimitedHand allows the user to touch and feel the virtual objects. UnlimitedHand was launched at September, 2015 at TechCrunch SF 2015. On KickStarter, the crowd-founding of UnlimitedHand reached their goal in just 22 hours.
UnlimitedHand at KickStarter
UnlimitedHand Project Site