Wearable Soft Haptic Interface for Tactile Perception of Virtual Rain and Other Environmental Particles

Rendering weather phenomena within virtual environments plays a crucial role in enhancing the realism and immersiveness of user experiences. Despite the advancements in audiovisual simulation of such phenomena, their haptic representation remains relatively underexplored. The lack of tactile feedback may result in a perceptual disconnect. To address this sensory imbalance, we have developed and validated a novel wearable haptic interface. This technology is specifically designed to deliver localised, subtle, and transient tactile stimuli, emulating the ephemeral nature of suspended or falling particles as raindrops, snowflakes, and sand grains, through the use of soft, compliant materials. Moreover, we exploited a couple of devised interfaces to conduct a user study that assessed whether the haptic rendering of atmospheric particles in rainy VR scenarios improves the user experience, increasing the sense of presence.