SATT Nord and the University of Lille sign an exclusive license agreement with Villeneuve-based start-up Go Touch VR in the field of virtual reality.
June 13, 2017,
Eric Vezzoli, CEO of Go Touch VR and doctoral student at the University of Lille, Lionel Montage, Vice-President of the Board of Directors in charge of research at the University of Lille – Science and Technology, and Norbert Benamou, President of SATT Nord, have signed an exclusive license agreement for the use and commercialization of TouchPIN technology.
Developed by Eric Vezzoli, Frédéric Giraud, and Betty Lemaire-Semail from the L2EP laboratory (Laboratory of Electrical Engineering and Power Electronics of Lille - University of Lille - Arts et Métiers - Centrale Lille - HEI) and Laurent Grisoni from the Cristal laboratory (Center for Research in Computer Science, Signals, and Automation of Lille – University of Lille – CNRS – Central Lille – Inria – IMT Lille Douai), it allows users to touch and feel the texture of virtual objects.
This technology strengthens the portfolio of innovations that enabled these four doctoral engineers specializing in "haptics" to create the start-up Go Touch VR, currently incubated at Cré'Innov.
Virtual reality allows us to immerse ourselves in increasingly realistic sound and visual worlds, but what about touch?
Go Touch VR is a small accessory (similar to a ring) that fits on one or more fingers and provides haptic feedback (reproducing tactile sensations). When used in conjunction with a virtual reality headset, it completely confuses the brain, which thinks it is actually touching an object during the experience. The illusion is complete and the sensation of virtually touching textures feels very real.
Go Touch VR can also be used, for example, in computer-aided design (CAD) to virtually manipulate objects that do not yet exist, navigate menus, or even for professional training and learning. The possibilities are endless.
"More than games, our system targets the professional virtual reality market," explains Thomas Sednaoui, co-founder. "In the field of computer-aided design, our system allows you to manipulate a 3D object as you would in a real workshop."
The start-up is in talks to finance its development with investment funds. It recently won the French Tech Emergence grant, a support program financed by Bpi France, and obtained €80,000 in funding from LMI Innovation as a promising project.
"Go Touch VR's next step will be to launch our first development kit for industrial partners in September 2017. Following the fundraising, significant product research and development will enable us to maintain a technological edge over our competitors and expand our intellectual property portfolio in VR Touch technology. A research partnership with the University of Lille and INRIA is under discussion to support and complement internal research activities." Eric Vezzoli – CEO Go Touch VR