What is the future of control in virtual reality?

Manufacturers are in pursuit of a more immersive experience without distractions

Working in one of the biggest emerging markets of all time is incredibly exciting. Virtual Reality (VR) has come a long way since the 1960s when cinematographer Morton Heilig created Sensorama, the first VR machine. The large booth could fit up to four people at a time, screened full colour 3D video and had a vibrating seat and scent producer. Fast forward 60 years and VR is being used by sectors as varied as the automotive industry, healthcare and interior design. Gamers all over the world are immersing themselves in ways that were previously unimaginable.

It has taken many years to get to this stage but VR is finally reaching the mainstream. It is a market that’s highly competitive, which is accelerating innovation. A flood of new VR headsets from Sony, Apple, Pico, HTC and more means prices are coming down and progress is at an all-time high. Meta alone recently reported it has sold 20 million Quest headsets so far, and the number of SteamVR users is accelerating dramatically. Devices are getting smaller without compromising on the sharpness of the image, thanks to technology such as micro OLED displays.  

Race for VR control

One of the biggest challenges for VR to crack is what the controller will look like, or whether there’ll be a controller at all. There are a million ways to solve the puzzle posed by motion tracking but the ultimate goal for VR is for users to forget they’re using the technology.

Controllers need to be intuitive, immersive and comfortable. If you always feel like you’re gripping a lump of plastic or pushing buttons at the opportune time, that rather breaks the illusion. Developers need to consider size, weight, cost, and battery life. They need to weigh up using a trackpad versus thumbsticks, or how to use finger tracking versus fake finger sensing.

Haptics – technology that gives a tactile response – are another crucial element in enhancing the overall VR gaming experience by adding a layer of realism. We’ve already seen technology giants such as Sony integrate haptics into the PSVR2 controllers, with adaptive triggers, and others, such as HaptiX and bHaptics working on developing multi-purpose haptic gloves. Haptic vests and suits could also be a reality in the future.

Imagining a truly immersive experience

Despite the potential of such technology, it seems likely controllers will continue to dominate the VR market for the coming decade. They’ve already evolved a great deal. Back in 2016, the HTC Vive system impressed gamers with its room-scale VR, whereby a user could walk around freely and interact with in-game items with two motion-tracking controllers. Later that year, Oculus added a second controller to its Oculus Touch set up too. And in 2019, the Index controllers added full finger tracking capabilities.

The eteeController SteamVR from TG0 is the next step in the evolution of VR control. It’s a unique controller that allows users to direct play via touch, proximity, pressure and gesture. The control surface reacts to every brush, curl and touch of the fingers, providing an intuitive way to play. Plus it’s wireless, lightweight and provides seven hours of play time.

Best of all, there are no buttons or thumbsticks. Buttons interrupt the illusion. Sitting somewhere between a glove and a controller, etee provides more immersion by design, with the ability to map the controls to a particular player. It provides accurate control without the distractions.

A buttonless future

VR is still in its infancy but will change all of our lives in the coming decade as the technology progresses. Our movements will be tracked more accurately, and the entire experience will start to feel more fluid and natural.

Key to that future are the immersive solutions that will allow us to inhabit our virtual twins more fully as we spend more time in virtual environments for work and play.

Perhaps we’ll even see the death of buttons once and for all.

Learn more about the future of MR/VR interactions and eteeControllers at eteeXR.com

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