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Emerge Wave-1 was presented in 2022 as a tabletop ultrasound panel intended to let VR users feel tactile points in the air without holding a haptic controller. New Atlas reported that it was designed to work with Meta Quest 2 and Emerge Home, but the available reporting does not establish whether Wave-1 later shipped or remains available.
What Emerge Wave-1 was designed to do
Wave-1 was described as a flat panel placed on a table, with an array directing ultrasound into the space above it. The New Atlas report dated March 4, 2022 gave its dimensions as 10.25 by 11.75 inches (26 by 29.8 cm), with tactile points reaching up to 3 feet (0.9 m) above the panel and spreading 120 degrees around it. Those are product figures reported by the publication, not independently verified measurements. New Atlas’s 2022 report also explicitly said its writer had not tried the device, so it should not be read as a hands-on review.
What headset and software it was meant to use
The reported setup paired Wave-1 with Meta Quest 2—called Oculus Quest 2 at the time—and Emerge Home, an app containing games and social experiences designed for the system. The headset’s sensors were to track the user’s hands, and the experiences described did not require controllers. Current headset compatibility, app support and availability have not been established.
Examples shown in the 2022 report
Company-promoted examples included blasting asteroids, spraying water on virtual farm animals, bouncing balls, handshakes and high-fives. These illustrate the intended interactions, not independently confirmed performance across those activities.
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How ultrasound can create a sensation in mid-air
Ultrasound phased arrays can adjust the phase of their emitters to concentrate acoustic pressure at a focal point. The resulting oscillating pressure can create a vibrotactile sensation when the focal point reaches a person’s skin. This is the general technique described in the PUMAH research; the Wave-1 article did not provide detailed transducer or beamforming specifications, nor independent performance measurements. The PUMAH study record
Why workspace and hand position matter
A fixed array has a bounded interaction region: where a user can feel a focal point depends on the array’s position and the geometry of the system. The direction of Wave-1’s haptics was a practical limitation noted in the 2022 report; sensations from one direction may constrain which hand orientations and interactions work well.
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Research systems that move the array
Researchers have explored moving ultrasound arrays to enlarge the reachable area. PUMAH used a pan-tilt mechanism. Its authors reported a 14-fold increase in workspace volume, focal-point repositioning speeds above 0.85 m/s, and positional accuracy below 18 mm in tests of that research system. Those results are not Wave-1 specifications. PUMAH study record
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A separate 2022 research prototype moved an array with a six-degree-of-freedom robot. Its evaluation included three psychophysical experiments, a user study and seven use cases. It shows one way researchers have investigated a larger interaction volume, not that Wave-1 offered room-scale reach. LMU Munich’s record of “Extended Mid-air Ultrasound Haptics for Virtual Reality”
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What user studies suggest about usefulness
Mid-air haptics are not automatically better than visual feedback; their value depends on the task and target. In a 2019 VR grasping study with 27 participants and six virtual object sizes from 40 mm to 100 mm, the repository abstract reports a preference for ultrasound haptics for small targets of 50 mm or less and for visual cues for objects larger than 60 mm. The result describes preferences in that study, not a rule for every user or task. Birmingham City University’s study record
A 2023 hand-guidance study likewise found task-dependent results: its abstract reports significant improvement from position guidance over visual feedback alone in a static scenario, while orientation guidance significantly improved results only in the dynamic scenario. PubMed record for “Ultrasound Mid-Air Haptics for Hand Guidance in Virtual Reality”
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A September 2025 journal-issue article reports two participant studies of bimanual ultrasound haptics, covering grasping and holding as well as shape exploration. Its abstract describes multiple non-coplanar devices as a potentially interesting approach to unencumbered manipulation; it does not establish commercial readiness. PubMed record for “Bimanual Ultrasound Mid-Air Haptics for Virtual Reality Manipulation”
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New Atlas reported that Wave-1 was being promoted through a Kickstarter campaign on March 4, 2022. At that reporting time, the campaign had a US$200,000 target, had raised more than US$50,000, had 35 days remaining and listed pledge tiers starting at US$450, with shipping dates varying by tier. These are historical campaign figures, not current prices, shipping promises or evidence of the campaign’s outcome. The report does not establish whether Wave-1 shipped, remains for sale, has a successor, or still has supported software.
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How to interpret the announcement
Wave-1’s reported premise was straightforward: pair tracked hand movement with focused ultrasound so a VR interaction could include touch without a handheld controller. The important qualifications are equally concrete: the reach and dimensions were reported product claims, the experiences depended on Emerge’s app ecosystem, and the available article was not a test. Academic work supports the underlying mid-air haptics approach while showing that workspace, hand position and task shape what it can do.
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