Virtual reality in video games has always been an epic failed attempt. At the moment, the shining knight in this space is the Oculus Rift, and even it is not a sure thing to bring virtual reality gaming to the mainstream. The problem with this technology is the lack of any form of feedback, but that’s OK because a device called Reactive Grip is aiming to change that.

Reactive Grip is a combination of software and hardware that allows the user to feel virtual objects and their respective weights. This could change the way we play video games forever, but first, it has to be implemented in a commercial product first.

The company behind the Reactive Grip is called Tactical Haptics. these guys specialize in making haptic technology more easily accessible on a commercial scale. For the haptic feedback to work, the controller requires the help of a physics engine muscle feedback in conjunction with virtual reality environments.

“It’s essentially creating a really simple yet effective illusion that you have physical interaction with things,” Tactical Haptics CEO William Provancher told Mashable. “What you experience is a combination of what’s called a motion component (what you feel in your muscles) and tactile (what you feel in the skin).”

Consoles and PC would require the support of Reactive Grip in order for it work. The games themselves would also need support for the technology, as well. We envision several PC games in the future to have mods that support Reactive Grip, the same can’t be said for console gaming since the systems are of the closed nature.

[Via Mashable]