Virtual reality immersion: Upcoming peripherals to complete the VR experience

The virtual reality (VR) storm is drawing near and several outfits within the tech and gaming industries have already announced the release of their VR head mounts during the holidays and in the first quarter of 2016. However, the head-mounted displays are not the only virtual reality gears that are needed for a "full-immersive" experience.

The VR market is projected to growth due to several giant corporations throwing in their pitches. During Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2015, Facebook's Oculus Rift was announced for release in the first quarter of 2016. Sony's Project Morpheus was unveiled and is also expected to be out early next year. HTC Vive, brought about by HTC's collaboration with Valve, is set to ship out before Christmas of 2015. Other companies that have developed their own VR headsets are also expected to release their products next year.

Each head-mounted display differs in built and specifications but share a common goal, which is to provide users with an immersive virtual reality experience. Moreover, while the headsets provide the necessary audiovisual surround, the VR experience can be more interactive with some specialized peripherals.

The VR headsets come with their own controllers, which would do well for several other applications but it leaves much to be desired for first-person shooter (FPS) games. Since it's basically a simulation of the real-world, a gun controller would make more sense.

One of the more realistic gun controllers that were introduced to PS3, PS4, and Xbox One consoles during the past two years is Delta Six. The Kickstarter project was launched by David Kotkin in May 2013 and has since gained traction. According to the Kickstarter page, Delta Six can be used together with VR platforms. The website also states that it is compatible with Oculus Rift.

Another VR gun controller that is in development is the Striker VR (Virtual Recoil). Just like the Delta Six, it also offers a realistic gun recoil system that goes into action when firing rounds. Striker VR is getting developed with the Oculus Rift according to its business portal.

Together with the guns, gaming vests have also been in development. One of the more recently reviewed ones is Kor-FX 4DFX, which is another Kickstarter project. The responses to it, however, are not that great. Luke Lafreniere of LinusTechTips said, "I really would have preferred it if the form factor was something like an actual tactical vest and not reminiscent of a sports bra." He also noted that the vibrations are weak and how it doesn't help with immersion due to the limited number of transducers. "If you're playing a game with background combat noise, like Battlefield, your vest will vibrate a lot," he added after mentioning that the vest vibrations are based off game sounds.

Perhaps a more realistic and immersive experience is with another gaming vest. The ARAIG (As Real As It Gets) was launched as a Kickstarter project back in 2013 and the first batch of the vest is set to roll out in March 2016. Contrary to the Kor-FX that is limited to the chest area, the ARAIG covers the entire upper body. It offers a force-feedback and electrical muscle stimulation that is activated whenever the player gets hit. Unfortunately, the suit is yet to be released for reviews.

Another derivative of the haptic technology, which the Kor-FX and ARAIG benefit from, is the Tesla Suit. However, unlike the ARAIG, it can cover the entire body. Using the haptic function, it can replicate anything from a warm breeze to bullet impact, to a lesser extent of course. It also offers fully body motion tracking, which PrioVR, another full-body VR-oriented suit, also features.

According to its business portal, the Tesla Suit will be fully compatible with existing virtual reality headsets such as the Oculus, Google Glass and META Space Glasses, as well as consoles (PSP, Xbox), personal computers (PC) and smartphones. The full suit setup consists of a belt, which has a central control unit, and modular units such as haptic feedback gloves, vest, and trousers. Each module will be sold separately. Although the company did not specify, the website states that the Tesla Suit modules will be available in "mid 2015."

With a full-body motion-tracking vest, terrain and virtual world exploration can become a problem for those that don't have the extra space. However, worry not for the problem has already been addressed. A couple of solutions are available to be pre-ordered. Both the Virtuix Omni and Cyberith Virtualizer allow users to run, walk, and strafe in every direction while staying in place by providing a 360-degree axial rotation. Both platforms also support vertical movements like jumping and sitting.

The only observable difference is that with the Omni, the user crouches by pressing buttons on the controller; while on the Virtualizer, this can be done freely without any button assistance. Both are well documented and have videos demonstrating their application for games like "Battlefield 4", "Call of Duty: Ghosts", "Bioshock Infinite", and many others while playing on a VR headset. The Omni is listed at $499 while the Virtualizer will be sold for $1,249.