在虚拟现实中触摸感知物体成为可能

　　Virtual reality allows the user to enter a different world through sight and sound. Several researchers and companies are adding a third element to the virtual experience: the sense of touch.

　　虚拟现实通过视觉和听觉使用户进入一个不一样的世界。一些研究者和公司正在添加第三个虚拟现实体验元素，即触觉。

　　Researchers in haptics, meaning the feeling of touch, are incorporating this sense into virtual reality with real-world applications.

　　触觉学(也即对触摸的感觉)的研究者们通过真实世界的装置把这种感觉融入到虚拟现实之中。

　　French company Go Touch VR created a device called VRtouch that straps onto the fingertips. The device applies varying pressure to the fingertips that correlates to what the user is seeing, touching and lifting in the virtual world.

　　法国公司Go Touch VR创造了一种能够用指尖触碰的名为VR touch的装置。这种装置在指尖上通过施加不同的压力来把置身于虚拟世界中用户的视觉、触觉和移动联系起来。

　　“That will open enormous possibilities,” said Eric Vezzoli, co-founder of Go Touch VR.

　　“这将开启无限的可能性。”Go Touch VR公司的共同创始人Eric Vezzoli说。

　　Applications for the touch device include allowing users to undergo training in a safe virtual environment.

　　触摸设备中的应用程序还支持用户在一个安全的虚拟环境中进行培训。

　　Vezzoli said strapping three of the VR touch devices on each hand - the thumb, forefinger and middle finger - are ideal.

　　Vezzoli说，每只手上有三根手指上绑了虚拟触摸装置是最理想的-分别是拇指、食指和中指。

　　“We can use up to six fingers. Why? Because three fingers are enough to manipulate light objects. For example, if you’re writing, you use just three fingers. But (in) VR, there’s no mass, there’s no weight. So, just three fingers is just enough,” Vezzoli said.

　　Vezzoli说六根手指就够用了。为什么呢，因为三根手指就足够操作轻物。举个例子，假如你要写作，你只要用三根手指。但在虚拟世界。这里没有质量，没有重力。所以只要三根手指就足够了。"

　　Training in virtual reality with the sense of touch may include surgical preparation in a medical procedure or learning in an industrial setting. A different application can be found in the advertising world.

　　在虚拟现实中使用触觉设备进行训练，可以在医疗程序中为外科手术提供演练，或是在虚拟的工业环境中学习。还有一个不同的应用方向是广告行业。

　　“You can, for example, visit an apartment - virtual apartment. You can open a cabinet. You can touch the bed - feel its softness, and that generates a physical connection with the buyer that can increase the chance of sale,” said Vezzoli.

　　“你可以，比如，参观一间公寓-虚拟公寓。你可以打开公寓里的橱柜，还能摸摸床，床还是软的。这能让买家与他们要买的房子产生物理上的真实接触，提升他们购买的几率。”Vezzoli说。

　　The company’s clients include the carmaker BMW. Go Touch VR hopes its haptic device will interest content producers, major corporations and the military, as virtual reality is more widely used in the real world.

　　这家公司的客户包括汽车厂商宝马。Go Touch VR公司希望它的触摸设备能引起制造商、大公司以及军方的兴趣，让虚拟现实技术在现实世界中得到更广泛的应用。