Japanese tech startup H2L has decided to bet on a solution that aims to inflict physical pain on people in the metaverse. This is not some kind of aggression or deviation – many modern companies are working to expand the sensations available to a person in virtual worlds.
H2L was born ten years ago with the financial backing of Sony. As part of a new project, the startup presented a device in the form of an armband — it registers contractions of human muscles, allowing the user’s avatar in the metaverse to repeat the movements of his body, and the person, in turn, to feel the presence and weight of objects. Electrical stimulation allows you to influence the muscles of the hands, simulating the sensations of events taking place in the virtual world – catching a ball or even hitting a bird’s beak.
The head and co-founder of H2L, Emi Tamaki, explained that the feeling of pain can enhance the effect of human presence in the metaverse. She has long been studying tactile technologies related to the sense of touch. Ms. Tamaki has set herself the goal of “liberating people from any restrictions imposed by the body, space and time” by 2029, and the development of H2L, in her opinion, will find many applications.
H2L belongs to a cohort of companies seeking to blur the line between the real world and the metaverse, and the big players in this segment are investing heavily in innovative solutions. According to Tracxn, the top 10 Japanese startups in the metaverse have raised a total of $60 million. the next 5 years the company plans to go public and raise up to 20 billion yen ($167.83 million).