New VR Delivers CAD You Can Touch

One of the key elements you’ll learn on autoCAD courses is that there’s a real difference between a computed aided design and your first prototype. The weight of the material, the feel in the hand - all of this can be predicted and examined, but may produce unexpected results when the prototype is finally created.

It will be interesting to see then how the creation of new virtual reality technology will allow you to feel computer generated designs as if they were real could change the landscape of product design and engineering.

The junction of CAD and VR is nothing new, with major developments to help engineers and designers see their designs in a new light, however, according to VR Focus, Tokyo-based exxiii Inc has come up with a wearable device called EXOS which will mean you can touch your designs when in virtual reality.

It consists of two haptic devices, the Wrist DK1 and the Gripper DK1, which exert counter force on both the wrist and the between the thumb and forefinger, and has been developed for industry rather than gaming.

Hiroshi Yamaura, CEO and Co-Founder of exiii Inc., is excited to see what the future holds for the device, according to VR Focus, saying. : “EXOS Wrist and Gripper can be used in many business areas, such as manufacturing, simulation, entertainment and so on. We are very excited and are looking forward to working with developers who want to push the boundary of VR experience.”

In the future, this could be the first realm of testing usability for products and devices before even reaching a prototype stage.