Cutting edge input devices

Gordon. Gill

Manus VR gloves
With the Manus VR gloves you can finally see and use your hands in virtual reality.
(Manus VR, 2015)
In October 2014, Manus VR was selected from 10,000 candidates who took part in the Dutch Start
up bootcamp HighTech XL, together with eleven other participants. The program helped Manus
VR accelerate and build the business in just three months. After the programs Demo Day in
February 2015, the company signed up leading development partners and clients. Furthermore, it
was fully funded at record speed, enabling the company to further develop the product.

Since developing the first working prototype in 2014, Manus has been a fast growing
company. It has grown around 300% and developed a functioning product in combination with
an open-source SDK. The development of Manus VR started in 2014, when the Netherlandsbased startup failed to reach their Kickstarter campaign funding goal. The company managed
to raise 700,000 from two Dutch investors, after they went through the High Tech XL startup
boot camp hardware accelerator program in November 2015. [3] (xinreality)
The Manus DK1 is currently up for pre-order on the official website of the company for 275.
The Manus DK1 contains: [4]

One pair of Manus gloves (left hand and right hand)

2x positional tracking bracelets
2x Micro USB cable
Interface
SDK for Android, Windows 8+, Linux, iOS 9, Mac OSX
Plug-ins for Unity and Unreal
Manus VR demo game for each supported platform

We are bridging a crucial gap between the physical and virtual worlds. Our focus lies on design,
durability and immersion. The latter being of upmost importance, as we want to give users the
most immersive experience. Compared to other gaming devices, the Manus VR gloves is more
affordable, better accessible and above all, more immersive than any of its predecessors. As the
worlds first consumer VR glove, the Manus VR glove will revolutionize the traditional consumer
gaming market. It is set to play a huge role in the virtual reality revolution. Manus VR users an
assortment of sensors to track hand movement in real time and use the captured data to faithfully
reproduced the movement in virtual reality. Instead of holding a controller, Manus uses gloves to
not only bring your hands, but also your fingers into the virtual world. It operates completely
wirelessly and comes with an open-source SDK that developers can use to integrate the handtracking functionality into their applications and games. (wearable)
The latest prototype of Manus VR is made from c, which is a hygienic sports fabric that is also
known as Spandex. It provides exceptional elasticity, while being more durable than many natural
materials and is entirely washable, despite the impressive electronic array inside.
The sensor module integrates an accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer into a single
unit, which is fixed on the top part of the glove. There are two options for connectivity: a five
millisecond latency, USB cable-attached version, and a 12 millisecond delay, wireless Bluetooth
version. Recorded data
are
transmitted
wirelessly using the
latest
low
energy
Bluetooth
standard.
This allows for 5-6 hours
of battery life. The
built-in battery supports
fast
charging
technology for a quick
recharge. The cable
option may also be to aid
continued usage if the
batteries get low.
In order for it to
achieve the device
agnosticism it wants
and build custom
bracelets that work for each headset, Blok said VR companies have to open up their positional
tracking systems. Oculus hasn't done that yet, though the company is working with Razer's OSVR.
And while its dev kit will ship with HTC Vive Pre support, Manus is still in talks with the firm to gain
access to its hardware. (Tomshardware)
Manus VR isn't the only one working on articulated hand tracking but its gloves do pretty well in
terms of tracking even with the early rudimentary design. Last month, the company revealed it was
also working on experimental arm tracking as well, and while it's still in an early stage, Manus did
show it off during E3 2016.
Just like the GDC demo, Manus uses the same HTC Vive setup where a controller is strapped to
each arm. Before the demo, my shoulder, arm and forearm had to be measured. CTO Maarten
Witteveen told me there will be a calibration screen when the actual device launches and that it
should remember your measurements. Witteveen says at least 10 developers send an email every

(digitaltrends)week asking when the SDK will be available so the team has been working around the
clock to deliver a product. (Tomshardware)
As with most new aspects of this very new VR ecosystem, Manus VR gloves require developers
to make use of them, and to that end there are SDKs for Unity and Unreal game engines. Gestures
made with the gloves are independent from the Vive controllers, but all of the data comes together
in the game engine. Developers can make gesture-based games, where they simply map a gesture
to an action within a game, including pre-existing Vive actions (a trigger pull mapped to a hand
grab, for example),
but
there is also
opportunity to
create
physics-based
interactions, where
objects
behave naturally in
response to more
precise
gestures. For
example, you could
pick up
a small glass with
thumb
and finger, and the
glass
would naturally
swivel a
bit, as if on a hinge. These object-based physics actions will naturally be more immersive and
lifelike.
The company has been showcasing a game called Pillow's Willow that was made to demonstrate
the glove's ability. It involves picking up fireflies, rearranging broken stairs, pushing pedals down
like whack-a-mole (as Stumpel put it), and playing notes on a piano.
The first developer edition of the glove should be available in Q3 2016 for $250.
Manus wants to deliver its gloves to consumers in 2017. It plans to add improvements, like
thumb and finger spread tracking, for an even more accurate read of hand movements. It's also
working on improving the physics so that you can get a sense of weight and shape from the virtual
objects you interact with. (Manus VR, 2015)

Bibliography
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wareable.com/vr/manus-vr-gloves-gdc

digitaltrends. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.digitaltrends.com/virtual-reality/manus-vr-glove-q2-2016/

Manus VR. (2015). Retrieved November 4, 2016, from Manus-VR.com: https://manus-vr.com/product
techradar. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.techradar.com/news/wearables/these-gloves-let-me-use-my-hands-in-vrand-it-s-the-future-1317312
Tomshardware. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.tomshardware.com/news/manus-vr-glove-hands-on,32129.html
wearable. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wareable.com/vr/manus-vr-gloves-gdc
wearable. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wareable.com/vr/manus-vr-gloves-gdc
xinreality. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://xinreality.com/wiki/Manus_VR