Are We Ready for Haptic Gloves in VR - A Comparison Study of Haptic Gloves vs Controllers in Virtual Reality
Authors
Hjørringgaard, Michael ; Jensen, Lasse Bangsgaard
Term
4. Term
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-06-07
Abstract
This thesis examines how a haptic glove performs compared to a standard controller, focusing on both precision and user experience. A haptic glove is a device that can provide a sense of touch through vibrations or pressure, allowing users to feel a kind of virtual contact in digital environments. We designed and built the glove ourselves, created a dedicated test scenario, and analyzed the data collected from the experiments. The results show that the haptic glove is not more precise than a regular controller, either in terms of accurate positioning or control of pressure. When tasks required higher precision, the glove was usually as slow or slower than the controller, and it was overall slower across different test conditions. However, the glove performed clearly better in terms of user experience. Participants gave the haptic glove higher so‑called hedonic ratings, especially for perceived realism and sense of involvement in the task. These findings are in line with earlier studies, which also report that haptic gloves still lag behind standard controllers in speed and precision, but can provide a slightly better and more engaging experience for users.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan en haptisk handske klarer sig i forhold til en standard controller, både når det gælder præcision og brugeroplevelse. En haptisk handske er et stykke udstyr, der kan give følesans gennem vibrationer eller tryk, så brugeren kan opleve en form for berøring i digitale miljøer. Vi har selv designet og bygget handsken, udviklet et særligt testforløb og analyseret de data, der kom ud af forsøgene. Resultaterne viser, at den haptiske handske ikke er mere præcis end den almindelige controller, hverken når man måler nøjagtig placering eller trykstyring. Når opgaverne krævede høj præcision, var handsken typisk lige så langsom eller langsommere end controlleren, og den var generelt langsommere på tværs af forskellige testbetingelser. Til gengæld klarede handsken sig markant bedre på brugeroplevelse. Deltagerne gav den haptiske handske højere såkaldte hedoniske vurderinger, især når det gjaldt realistisk fornemmelse og oplevet involvering i opgaven. Disse resultater stemmer overens med tidligere studier, som også finder, at haptiske handsker endnu ikke kan måle sig med standard controllere i hastighed og præcision, men kan give en lidt bedre og mere engagerende oplevelse for brugeren.
[This abstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords
VR ; Haptics ; Virtual Reality ; Controller ; Glove ; Comparison ; Study ; Haptic Glove ; Test Environment