bHaptics Haptic Vest and Accessories Review

More and more people are getting exposed to virtual reality, making it less special than it initially was. This is due to virtual reality becoming more accessible. For example, you can get the Oculus Quest for a relatively low price and enjoy high-quality VR content completely wirelessly, without spending hundreds of euros on a gaming PC. But precisely because VR is becoming more familiar, developers and providers want to make the experience increasingly realistic and immersive. One way to do this is by adding a haptic feedback suit to the experience

At the moment, the bHaptics vest is the most refined haptic feedback vest in the world. The vest has 40 feedback points, each capable of producing individual vibrations. This allows extremely accurate control over where on the body you feel the feedback. For comparison: Nullspace's Hardlight Suit only had a total of 16 feedback points. Combined with the other bHaptics accessories (face mask, sleeves, shoes, and gloves), the suit has a whopping 58 feedback points in total

One of the earlier versions of the bHaptics vest weighed about 2.5 kg. It quickly became clear that this was too heavy for someone to play enthusiastically. Therefore, bHaptics tried to save as much weight as possible with the new bHaptics Tactot Vest. The vest now weighs 1.7 kg, which was a good decision. When you put on the vest, you do notice that you have something on your body, but it's far from uncomfortable or heavy. You can easily play with it for an extended period without getting tired. Thanks to the zipper at the front, the vest is also easy to put on and take off, and the adjustable straps on the side and back allow you to tighten the vest around your body. This makes the vest usable for everyone and ensures it fits comfortably

The Tactot vest comes with a large 8250 mAh battery. This battery has about 15 hours of playtime before it needs to be recharged (assuming all 40 vibration points vibrate 1 second per 10 seconds at maximum intensity). To recharge the battery, you can plug it into a power adapter. It then takes about 4 hours for the battery to be fully charged again. In practice, the battery of the bHaptics vest lasts for 2 or 3 days. For commercial (VR-arcade) use, it is advisable to purchase multiple vests, as swapping the battery is not very convenient. The connection of the vest is completely wireless and runs via Bluetooth. This is convenient, as it allows multiple bHaptics vests to be placed in one room without problems with the connection between the vests or headsets

There are several accessories available for the bHaptics vest to compile a complete package. There is a haptic feedback face mask that fits all common types of VR glasses, a haptic feedback sleeve for the arms, gloves, and separate haptic shoes. Many of these products are still being thoroughly tested by the bHaptics team, which is why they are not yet available in Europe. Only the bHaptics face mask is expected to be on sale by the end of 2019. This face mask is comparable to a VR Cover face mask that you stick on a VR headset. The mask comes in a 'wide' and 'standard' version. The wide version is suitable for the HTC Vive Pro, Vive Focus, and Pimax series. The standard version is suitable for all other VR headsets. With 6 individual vibration points, the face mask provides a unique experience. For example, if someone makes a headshot at you while playing Pavlov VR, you immediately feel this feedback. And don't worry, you can easily adjust the intensity of the feedback yourself!

bHaptics has developed its own (free) software platform, called bHaptics Designer and bHaptics Player. bHaptics Player is similar to SteamVR; you use this program to establish a connection between your bHaptics products and the computer. You can also test the vibration points in this program. You can do this by drawing a pattern in the program, after which the vest vibrates at the points you draw

The other program, bHaptics Designer, is a web-based program. In this program, you can create a sequence of patterns yourself. This offers a lot of cool possibilities for developers who create their own VR content, as you can precisely indicate where and when you want the vest to give haptic feedback. For example, imagine watching a VR movie, and just as a monster walks by... you feel a slight vibration from the vest! This provides a unique experience because you're not just watching a movie, you're almost physically present. Click here to read more about the programs

bHaptics is standardly compatible with a number of popular games like Space Junkies, Tower Tag, and Arizona Sunshine. But besides these well-known titles, there are also many less-known games that work with bHaptics' haptic feedback! You can see an overview of all VR games that are compatible with bHaptics here. As haptic feedback suits become more well-known, more and more games will become compatible. But for now, there is already plenty of choice to experience haptic feedback

bHaptics is a company that is making great strides when it comes to (affordable) VR haptics. The products are made with practical use in mind. Extra attention has been paid to the weight and fit of the vests, so they fit everyone and can easily be passed on to new players. This makes bHaptics products ideal for use in VR arcades to add an extra dimension to the total VR experience