Every year, the CES Innovation Awards competition honors outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products. This year, honorees are joined by OWO Game, a wireless haptic vest that allows the wearer to experience more than 30 different sensations corresponding to stimuli from virtual reality experiences.
The Spanish company behind the product began its journey in 2019 with an idea conceived by Jose Fuertes, the company’s CEO and founder. The idea for the haptic vest was inspirited by his earlier venture, a company called WiemsPro, which developed a wireless whole body system of muscle electrostimulation (EMS).
With OWO Game, Fuertes simply adapted his fitness product for the world of gaming and virtual reality entertainment.
The haptic vest is compatible with all platforms, including PC, mobile, console, and, most importantly, VR. Because its made of the finest Italian lycra, the vest is breathable and comfortable even when worn for an extended period of time.
The company’s patented haptic system is discreetly integrated into the vest and powered by a built-in battery. As a user, you can customize the intensity of simulated sensations using the companion app. The app also remembers calibration results, so the calibration process doesn’t have to be performed every time, which is good news because it takes around 5 minutes.
OWO divides the sensations the vest can simulate into three broad categories: impact, interaction, and experience. The three categories cover everything from punches to shots to collisions to fast driving. Spanish online newspaper El Español had the opportunity to test the vest, and the reviewer was surprised by how well represented the sensations are.
The OWO Game haptic vest is currently available for pre-order, and customers can choose from 10 different sizes.
