Research labs network Disney Research developed a 360 degree virtual reality application that makes use of a unique chair to provide a full body sensation to enable a user to add customizable feel effects like the falling rain or a beating heart. Virtual reality is the most recent technology making news.
Senior research manager at Disney Research Pittsburgh in the US, Ali Israr said, “Virtual reality has seen a renaissance in recent years as advancements in computer graphics, computing platforms and the seamless flow of information between hardware and software have come together in a powerful way”. The research manager added that the present VR systems provide a buzz like haptic sensations with the help of the hand controllers, but the technology has the ability to provide much better sensations.
The researchers have developed the haptic playback and authoring plug-in that connects a VR game to a custom haptic device. This allows the users to create, associate and personalize haptic feedback to the events that are triggered in the VR game engine. The new app is christened as VR360HD which was developed and tested with the help of a consumer headset and the haptic chair by Disney Research.
The chair has six vibrotactile actuators in its back and two subwoofers or shakers in the seat and back. The chair produces localized moving sensations in the back and the subwoofers shake two regions of the body which can create a sensation of motion. The best part is that the users were able to select from a variety of feel effects. Such effects are identified with common terms like rain, rumbling, pulsing and can also be adjusted so that people can distinguish between a light sparkle and a heavy rain.
Photo Credits: staticworld
