In General XR News
January 28, 2025 – Haptikos, Inc., a startup working to deliver lifelike and immersive touch-based spatial experiences, has this week emerged from stealth at the 1st Annual MIT Experiential Innovation Event in Cambridge, MA, with EUR €2.6 million in pre-seed funding to support its early-stage development.
The company specifically announced its new hand exoskeleton, which is part of the Haptikos ecosystem of integrated hardware and software. Coupled with the company’s AI-infused Haptik_OS, the exoskeleton and OS combination brings a complete sense of touch—from a single drop of water or the pulse of a heartbeat—to virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) apps and use cases.
Haptikos Exoskeleton
According to Haptikos, its exoskeleton prototype makes it possible to feel the distinct sensations of different materials, from smooth surfaces to intricate textures. Whether handling virtual objects in training or design, Haptikos has been designed to make digital environments feel tangible and lifelike, and to enhance overall realism of immersive experiences.
The Haptikos hand exoskeleton has 24 Degrees of Freedom (DoF) per hand, with sub-millimeter motion accuracy and 8 hours of continuous usage, offering users control over every joint to ensure lifelike movements, from the most delicate gestures to the most complex actions.
Each exoskeleton includes tracking sensors and haptic sensors, with kinesthetic sensors to be added later in 2025. Through these sensors, Haptikos tracks the movement of each hand joint, allowing for full, natural control over every motion, from finger curls to complex hand gestures, and making digital interactions feel more fluid and intuitive.
With sub-millimeter precision, Haptikos captures even the smallest user motions to ensure that every gesture, no matter how subtle, is translated into the virtual world with fidelity. Plus, with a rise of 12 ms and a fall time of 55 ms, every touch and interaction feels immediate and smooth, according to the company.
haptik_OS
The haptik_OS app is the central hub for connecting Haptikos exoskeleton and seamlessly integrating its capabilities into projects and motion control, with the platform already offering integration into Unity SDK.
The haptik_OS is itself at the core of the Haptikos ecosystem, connecting developers, designers, and end-users to create lifelike, intuitive and immersive experiences. Through built-in AI functionality, haptik_OS automatically adapts pre-built libraries into new haptic XR applications in Unity, simplifying both integration and scaling.
The haptik_OS is available immediately via three tiers of license:
- Freemium: Basic tools for developers to start exploring.
- Basic Tier: SDK for integration into applications.
- Pro Tier: Full access to AI-driven tools for automated customization.
Haptikos stated that its exoskeleton prototypes are already in use by leading companies such as Siemens and Leonardo, and are designed for markets ranging from medical, defense and robotics. Available for less than half the cost of competing solutions, Haptikos has priced its solution at USD $2,500 per evaluation unit. The company added that it has an eventual goal of a sub-$1000 final price point by 2026 when its final production units ship.
“Competitive haptics solutions are normally glove-based, and never fit correctly on most hands – our exoskeleton fits everyone perfectly, is far more accurate, far less costly and is the only solution coupled with an actual software solution that makes it genuinely useful across a range of markets,” commented Greg Agriopoulos, CEO and co-founder of Haptikos, Inc.
“Haptikos really impressed the entire MIT Innovation Technology team with their advanced haptics, and we are extremely pleased they saw the value of launching at our premiere event in tandem with the MIT Reality Hack,” said Maria Rice, Executive Director of the MIT Reality Hack. “Haptics have been a long-overlooked component of a complete XR solution, and their combination of haptics, operating system and AI combined with the industry-leading Unity SDK is a win for all developers seeking the next XR frontier.”
Agriopoulos added: “We are extremely excited to finally be emerging from stealth in the hallowed halls of MIT, where their slogan of ‘mens et manus’—Latin for ‘mind and hand’—has taken on a new and very literal meaning.”
For more information on Haptikos and its haptic technology, please visit the company’s website.
Image / video credit: Haptikos
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About the author
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.