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Virtual reality haptic “smart suit” uses AI with biometrics to simulate real-world environments
One of the innovative future technologies that was on display at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2019) in Las Vegas is the Teslasuit, a full body virtual reality haptic suit that delivers real sensations to users that mimic the environment of a digital simulation or game. In a haptic feedback system, stimuli are used to provoke real sensations involving touch – shocks, punches, pushes, bumps, etc. Teslasuit combines this sort of environmental feedback along with climate control, motion capture, and biometric systems to give a fully responsive, immersive experience to the user. Combined with true-to-life virtual reality graphics, this device could finally provide the experience VR was intended to have since its development began.
The full-body sensations of the Teslasuit seem to indicate a new level of experience for virtual reality users, but the haptic capabilities aren’t the only things making it stand out. The suit’s biometric system is designed to use machine learning to analyze heart rate, stress levels, and overall mental and emotional states to create experiences catered to the user. How this capability will be implemented is really up to game developers, though. As data is gathered from biometrics, capabilities will follow. “This is very important for the gaming industry. We see that in the future, when we come to the end user market, that we will be able to offer a lot of data sensing for the developers to process, for the AI itself to adjust the game to the player,” Dimitri Mikhalchuk, co-founder of Teslasuit, explained in an interview with Digital Trends. The suit was first officially unveiled at CES 2018.
Teslasuit uses 68 channels embedded throughout the suit’s fabric to deliver electrical stimulations, and the company is working to expand on that number. Also included in the suit’s software is a haptic library, enabling game developers to create their own effects to correspond with their virtual worlds. The climate control system adjusts the temperature of the suit, heating and cooling in accordance with the virtual environment. Finally, its motion capture and avatar system track motions from the users entire body to interact with virtual environments (and built with multiple players in mind), something that’s more or less an expansion on the core of VR to begin with.
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- The haptic Teslasuit as imagined in a VR game environment. | Credit: Teslasuit
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- The haptic Teslasuit. | Credit: Teslasuit
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- The haptic Teslasuit. | Credit: Teslasuit
While the Teslasuit brings virtual worlds closer to a potentially action-packed reality, bruises are not part of the experience, according to Mikhalchuk. The electric stimulation is matched to the users own strength, adapting its responses to the input. In other words, the force a user “hits” with in a game is the amount of force used to “hit” back, i.e., electric pulses make the muscles contract within that range.
With the equivalent of a full body shocking device wrapped around players, the question of security arises, yet another thing Teslasuit has addressed in its design. Its software has military grade encryption (AES 256) built into its wireless control system to ensure users’ bodies are not (literally) hacked into. Among its many features, Teslasuit is also completely wireless, boasts a 10+ hour battery life, and is machine washable (important for sweat-inducing virtual scenarios and general funk from frequent wear). A summary of the device on the Teslasuit website reads like something from a science fiction movie:
A highly developed form of computer modeling allows an operator to immerse in the artificial world. The user can act directly in it with the help of special sensory devices that link movements with audio-visual effects. In this case, the user’s visual, auditory, tactile, and motor sensations are replaced by their imitation, generated by a computer system with full body haptic VR suit. At the same time, biometric system of the Teslasuit analyzes human performance and health (workforce and human performance analytics). – Teslasuit.io
The future of augmented reality and virtual reality applications have been explored in fictional storylines over the years with the most recent and directly relevant one being the haptic system imagined in the movie Ready Player One. The Battlestar Galactica prequel series “Caprica” also imagined an immersive virtual world that users could “feel” experiences in (or otherwise do things they wouldn’t/couldn’t in the real world), but that didn’t require a suit, just a mind. In an episode of Netflix’s Black Mirror series called “Playtest”, an American traveler in the UK signs up to demo an immersive VR horror game to earn some money. Unlike the Teslasuit, however, the experience in that episode involved an implant to the user’s neck called a “mushroom” which linked up the VR experience with a user’s brain. The Matrix also suggested an immersive environment, although people weren’t exactly voluntarily involved, if they ever knew it wasn’t real to begin with.
Other than gaming, Teslasuit is suggestive of several solutions for non-entertainment industries. According to an article on their company website, several VR-training solutions were available for demonstration at CES 2019: Astronaut VR-training in an ISS module, an oil-loading ramp operation VR-simulator, emergency evacuation VR-training, and a powerplant VR training simulator. Teslasuit is currently continuing its outreach and collaboration with game companies to develop content. Its software development kit and corresponding system tools and applications are included with the purchase of the suit which began shipping B2B in the third quarter of 2018.
Watch the below video for a first-hand review of Teslasuit:
SpaceXAI announced today that it had signed an agreement with Anthropic to give the company access to its Colossus 1 data center in Memphis, Tennessee.
It is a monumental deal as Anthropic will gain access to all of the compute at the plant, delivering more than 300 megawatts of power and over 220,000 NVIDIA GPUs within the month.
Anthropic’s Claude AI account on X announced the partnership:
“We’ve agreed to a partnership with SpaceX that will substantially increase our compute capacity. This, along with our other recent compute deals, means that we’ve been able to increase our usage limits for Claude Code and the Claude API.”
The company is also:
- Doubling Claude Code’s 5-hour rate limits for Pro, Max, and Team plans;
- Removing the peak hours limit reduction on Claude Code for Pro and Max plans; and
- Substantially raising its API rate limits for Opus models.
We’ve agreed to a partnership with @SpaceX that will substantially increase our compute capacity.
This, along with our other recent compute deals, means that we’ve been able to increase our usage limits for Claude Code and the Claude API.
— Claude (@claudeai) May 6, 2026
SpaceX also published its own release on the new agreement, noting that it is “the only organization with the launch cadence, mass-to-orbit economics, and constellation operations experience to make orbital compute a near-term engineering program rather than a research concept.”
CEO Elon Musk also commented on the partnership and shed light on intense meetings he had with senior members of Anthropic last week, stating, “nobody set on my evil detector.”
Same here.
By way of background for those who care, I spent a lot of time last week with senior members of the Anthropic team to understand what they do to ensure Claude is good for humanity and was impressed.
Everyone I met was highly competent and cared a great deal about…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 6, 2026
This has turned the argument that SpaceX is as much an AI company as a space exploration company into a very valid argument:
SpaceX is following in Tesla’s footsteps in a way nobody expected
Nevertheless, this is an incredibly valuable and important move in the grand scheme of things. AI scaling is fundamentally bottlenecked by compute, and demand for Claude has surged, bringing terrestrial power grids, land, and cooling operations hitting limits everywhere.
Anthropic has been aggressively signing multiple large-scale deals to be competitive in the space, including:
- Up to 5GW with Amazon
- 5GW with Google and Broadcom
- Strategic $30b Azure deal with Microsoft/NVIDIA
- $50b U.S. infrastructure investment with Fluidstack
Access to Colossus 1 gives Anthropic immediate relief on NVIDIA GPU capacity. For SpaceXAI, it turns its rapid buildout into revenue. It also showcases its ability to deliver at world-leading speed and scale.
Most importantly, it plants the seed that its much larger vision, orbital AI compute, is totally viable.
Starlink V3 satellites could enable SpaceX’s orbital computing plans: Musk
Within the month, Anthropic will begin using 100 percent of Colossus 1’s compute, directly expanding capacity for Claude Pro and Max subscribers and the API. This means fewer limits, faster responses, and support for heavier workloads.
In the long term, meaning 2026 and beyond, there will be a continued rollout of other multi-GW deals Anthropic has signed, and an early exploration of orbital compute with SpaceXAI.
News
Tesla unveils mysterious prototype at Giga Texas: Is the Model Y L coming to America?
The Model Y L has been available in China for some time, but Americans are wondering when it will potentially come to the United States, offering a larger version of the best-selling vehicle in the world, as the Model X is officially phased out.
Tesla unveiled a mysterious prototype, covered up between a Model Y and a Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas, perhaps giving yet another hint that the Model Y L is coming to America.
The Model Y L has been available in China for some time, but Americans are wondering when it will potentially come to the United States, offering a larger version of the best-selling vehicle in the world, as the Model X is officially phased out.
Giga Texas observer and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer captured an image of the vehicle on May 6, showing a fully-covered prototype parked alongside a standard Model Y and a Cybertruck.
This mystery Tesla is covered at Gigafactory Texas
What do you think it is? https://t.co/l5WVKLi9yM pic.twitter.com/CcOybDkCkn
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) May 6, 2026
From top-down and angled views, the prototype appears nearly identical in scale to the Model Y but reveals noticeably distinct rear proportions—an elongated rear door that stretches farther over the wheel arch and rear glass that flows uninterrupted to the spoiler lip.
The side-by-side placement provides an immediate size reference. The mystery vehicle sits comfortably between the compact Model Y and the massive Cybertruck, suggesting it occupies a practical middle ground for families seeking more interior room without jumping to a full-size pickup.
Enthusiasts quickly took to social media with guesses ranging from an extended-wheelbase Model Y to a potential station-wagon variant.
The sight of this prototype follows an earlier look at another shrouded body-in-white resting in a wooden shipping crate at the Giga Texas plant in late March.
That prototype appeared to display an elongated silhouette. Some analysis seems to show nearly exact dimensions as to what is reported for the Model Y L in the Chinese market, approximately 4.98 meters long with a 3.04-meter wheelbase, roughly seven inches longer overall than the U.S.-spec Model Y. The rear-door extension and glass-to-spoiler design were identical to the current sighting:
The Model Y L has already proven popular in China, where it launched in six- and seven-seat configurations and quickly ranked among the top-selling mid-to-large SUVs. Owners enjoy roughly 10 percent more cargo space and enhanced family versatility.
Tesla has remained silent on U.S. plans other than CEO Elon Musk saying it could come in late 2026, but localizing production at Giga Texas would make strategic sense.
With the Model X phase-out and steady Model Y output already humming along expanded lines, a longer-wheelbase variant could add tens of thousands of annual deliveries without major retooling.
The latest sighting arrives amid Tesla’s broader push to refresh its lineup. Whether this prototype represents the long-rumored Model Y L, a subtle Juniper-style update, or something entirely new remains unconfirmed.
Yet the consistent visual cues—precise dimensional match, distinctive rear styling, and strategic placement at Giga Texas—point strongly toward an extended Model Y designed for American families who want extra space without sacrificing the Model Y’s efficiency and affordability.Tesla watchers will be monitoring future drone flights closely.
If the prototype is indeed the Model Y L, it could mark a significant expansion of the company’s best-selling vehicle and deliver the extra room many U.S. buyers have been requesting for years. For now, the blue tarp keeps its secrets—but the clues are getting harder to hide.
News
Tesla Roadster gets an update, but not the one fans were looking for
Tesla has quietly filed a new trademark application for its next-generation Roadster, giving enthusiasts their first official glimpse of fresh branding for the long-teased electric supercar.
Tesla has been slow to show its hand regarding the massive project that is the Roadster, but it is now coming forth with a new update.
However, it is probably not the one fans were looking for.
Tesla has quietly filed a new trademark application for its next-generation Roadster, giving enthusiasts their first official glimpse of fresh branding for the long-teased electric supercar.
The February 3 filing includes an inverted triangular badge with the word “ROADSTER” centered above four vertical lines that, according to the application, represent “speed, propulsion, heat, or wind.”
A sleek, angular wordmark and a minimalist curved-line silhouette hinting at the car’s aerodynamic shape round out the trio of marks.
I found something cool. Tesla has filed a new trademark application for its next-generation Roadster. It could be the new Roadster logo/badge.
The filing says the lines depict speed, propulsion, heat or wind.
(I took the liberty of making the logo red. Trademark filings are… pic.twitter.com/W9JSDwTRL7
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) May 6, 2026
For a program that began with Elon Musk’s 2017 reveal, this is tangible forward motion. The original Roadster proved EVs could be thrilling; the next generation aims higher, with promises of sub-two-second 0-60 mph acceleration and, in its most extreme configuration, optional SpaceX cold-gas thrusters for rocket-like thrust.
The new trademarks suggest Tesla is now locking down the visual identity that will accompany those headline specs, as well as a small hint that maybe we’re finally getting close. However, the company has not revealed any progress on the vehicle itself or its specs to the public.
It continues to tease with developments like this one.
That said, the update lands with a familiar bittersweet note. Fans have waited nearly a decade since the initial unveiling. Production was once eyed for 2020, then 2021, then later still. In the intervening years, Tesla has delivered the Model Y, Cybertruck, Semi, and major autonomy advances while scaling its energy business.
The Roadster has taken a back seat, and the delays have been genuinely disappointing. Many longtime supporters have grown frustrated watching renderings and hearsay while other marques roll out ever-faster electric sports cars.
Yet, the Roadster program itself still sparks genuine excitement. It represents the purest expression of Tesla’s “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy” mission—pushing performance boundaries to prove EVs can outperform anything with an engine.
The new branding, modest as it is, keeps that promise alive. It tells owners and prospective buyers that Tesla hasn’t forgotten the car that started it all.
No one would blame fans for wanting more than a logo right now. But in an industry where many concepts never leave the drawing board, the fact that Tesla continues to invest in and protect the Roadster’s identity is reason for measured optimism.
The wait has tested patience, but when the next-generation Roadster finally arrives, the new badge may well adorn one of the most exciting cars ever built. For those who have followed the journey this far, that payoff still feels worth it.
SpaceXAI signs agreement with Anthropic for massive AI supercomputer access
Tesla unveils mysterious prototype at Giga Texas: Is the Model Y L coming to America?
