Actronika's Skinetic Vest: Redefining Digital Interaction through Haptics

By | Isabel Trejos
April 3, 2023
Laval Virtual, the European event that gathers all VR and AR community, is opening its doors this April 12 to 16 in Changé, France. For five days, startups, academics, creatives and  industry experts gather to discover the future of immersive technologies. Among the exhibitors is Actronika, a French startup specializing in haptics, which will showcase its technology and product: the Skinetic vest. A vest that allows you to feel virtual worlds.

Since the beginning of interactions with virtual reality, different actors in the market have worked to improve the immersion of the experience, making it as "natural" as possible. Technologies like eye tracking in VR headsets with outstanding visual sharpness, body tracking with smooth movement, or even haptics allow users to interact in a new way with VR.

Haptic technology is a snowball subject that has become more relevant in industries that look to enhance customer experiences, such as automotive, luxury, marketing, training... and of course, XR. Integrating haptics into these experiences brings the keystone of virtual experiences: the sense of touch. If you have ever experimented with virtual reality or watched someone else, you might have realized that we have a natural instinct to try and touch digital objects.

This technology is relatively new compared to visual and auditory developments, and just a few players in the market are working on it. Among the companies specializing in this technology is Actronika, a Parisian startup looking to redefine how humans interact digitally through vibrotactile haptics (reproduction of tactile illusions through vibrations). Actronika will showcase the Skinetic vest at the 25th edition of LAVAL VIRTUAL, an event dedicated to immersive technologies. This haptic vest revolutionizes the way users interact with virtual experiences. More than a simple buzz or rumble, Skinetic delivers detailed life-like sensations to users for a greater sense of immersion. 

Imagine feeling the water flowing around your body when exploring the ocean, the turbulence when piloting a helicopter, laser beams going through you when under attack by an alien invasion, the bass of the music in a virtual concert... You can now engage with XR and VR like never before by using the sense of touch!

More than a device to enjoy precise sensations when interacting with digital experiences, users can also become creators of immersive experiences. Using the Skinetic vest as a tool and the software for haptic design developed around the vest, Unitouch Studio, developers and designers can easily create authentic and immersive experiences. 

Thanks to the Unitouch Studio software’s intuitive user interface and tools, it makes the process an easy task with immediate high-quality results. As a company specializing in haptics, we understand how complex haptic design can be, and that's why we created a library of 200+ ready-to-use effects with essential effects for various possible scenarios. You can also have complete individual control of each actuator in the vest to recreate smooth spatialized effects across the surface of the vest for truly immersive sensations.

If you want to live an immersive experience with the Skinetic vest or learn more about Unitouch Studio, visit us at booth A70 (Hall A).

Contact us to get a demo of our technology, to discuss how we can collaborate to add value to your project, or simply to share an idea with us.
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