The Verge: Disney Research, MIT Media Lab, and Carnegie Mellon University have unveiled a new conceptual haptic “force jacket” that simulates physical experiences to people wearing the device. The force jacket is lined with airbags controlled by a computer that inflates and deflates the bags. Disney envisions the jacket will be used with VR headsets for more immersive experiences, given its ability to simulate hugs, being hit or punched, and peculiarly, the sensation of a snake slithering across your body.
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10 comments:
This vest sounds super creepy. The idea that they could simulate a bug or snake on you kinda scares me. I can’t imagine putting this on with virtual reality glasses at an amusement park. That being said, I’m not surprised that Disney has created this. I wonder how sanitary these jackets would be in amusement parks. I wouldn’t want to put a jacket that another sweaty guest had worn. It could be a cool addition to movies though as I can see it as the next step in 4D movies. One thing that I liked about this product, is that it is made out of used life vests. Though I’m sure this vest takes a lot of energy and new materials to make, I think it’s amazing that they were able to repurpose something. Overall, despite my concerns about the product, I’m interested to see what Disney ends up doing with it and how they incorporate it into their movies or parks.
Technology is one of the most interesting things nowadays. I think a jacket that simulate physical experiences is both cool and daunting, meaning that there is a large margin of error for mistakes to occur in this cool device. With technology like this, people can say goodbye to amusement parks and say hello to experiences in the privacy of their own homes. Though it has its pros, I do think that there is room for wrongdoing and abuse to come out of something this powerful -- It reminds me greatly of this Black Mirror episode called Black Museum where there is a character with a helmet that can feel pain without suffering the consequences. What makes it even scarier is the fact the people who made this are from Disney, which both alarms me and relieves me. This product is consumerism at its finest, I hope people are still able to have real physical experiences in their lives even after buying this vest.
Wow, this is both fascinating and quit off putting! I can't really fathom how, and more importantly, why products like this are developed. That said, it really is an impressive thing to imagine. I wonder what kind of implications tech like this could have for theatrical storytelling... I feel like it would be well suited to virtual reality, where the user is wearing both a VR headset while wearing the vest. This would make for a very interesting sensory deprivation experience that could be an incredibly effective (if a bit niche) storytelling tool. I am really interested in VR and it's narrative potential, even though it is still in a relatively nascent stage of development and implementation. I feel that this sort of tech could very well present a new storytelling medium in the years to come.
That sounds like a really cool thing. Now I’ll be honest, the way to sell me on something is not by telling me it will make me feel like a snake is slithering across my body. The other stuff sounds cool, but a snake, no thanks. A few other thoughts. This is the first time that I can think of where a computer device is actually making you feel something physical other than a vibration on a controller. A computer game can’t hurt you…unless you are wearing a vest that simulates being punched. This is kind of groundbreaking since the immersive thing that is happening, isn’t just immersive, it’s the thing. If you’re playing Call of Duty with VR then maybe you feel like you’re on a battlefield, but no matter how good the graphics are, its obviously a video game. But with this jacket thing, if you're playing call of duty and a thing flies at you, you might feel a force that is not simulated at all, that’s a real thing hitting you. This is really cool, but I see a world where this might be dangerous.
If I wasn’t doing theater, this is what I was hoping to do. In fact, maybe I’ll still get to design something like this at some point. I love the idea of haptics. My favorite book is Ready Player One and in it the world has developed these very reliable and sturdy haptic vests that are used to provide stimulation to simulate what was happening in the VR world. The idea to use a bunch of small air bags in order to do this is very clever. I would be very interested to see what it feels like, especially with the visuals of VR. Just VR alone does a wonderful job of tricking your senses into feeling things that aren’t spatially accurate. With the introduction of tactile feedback I can imagine that VR will be incredibly convincing. I cannot wait to see what the next 5 or 10 years hold for this industry.
I love hearing what the greater CMU community is working on. Sometimes I feel like I have my head in the sand in drama and can’t see the amazing things that the university and it’s alums are producing outside the walls of Punell. This jacket is really cool because it is combining art and science. Thea art is in the fact that it is furthering a visual experience of graphics that where designed for a viewer. The entertainment experience is art. And the science is all of the technology that is in the jacket itself in order to facilitate the results of a snake crawling around you to match the visual art. Projects like this where they meet at the intersection of art and technology is why I love the arts so much. This jacket is a very cool invention and it has the possibility to revolutionize the viewing experience of VR, but like Drew said in a comment, I think the possibility of this technology being taken to far is a very real chance. A snowball, great. A snake, a little less great. But a bullet from a VR session, that could be dangerous.
This is a very cool, yet eery invention! I love seeing entertainment expand it's scope into immersive interaction with the audience, especially in this case. I remember seeing A Bug's World at one of the theaters inside Disney's Animal Kingdom when I was younger. Half way through the show, there supposed to be a bug crawling through the aisle of seats. When that happened from left to right, audience members felt something run across the back of their seat. You could see the people shifting and squealing down the row. That moment blew my mind because I realized that even in a theater, we were a part of the action. Furthermore, I was so in awe at the fact imagineers would create such a simple but effective effect. Now that I'm older, I feel like I understand more behind the "why" of creating new 4D gear, but it still baffles me. I think these sort of inventions are going to help propel entertainment companies known for movies and amusement parks begin to cohabitate more frequently with the gaming world. I think both industries are diving into a higher fidelity "real life" entertainment experience.
I love this. It is so interesting when humans are able to recreate a sensation through technology. I'm from Orlando so I have been bought by Disney but I am excited to see how they develop this technology to be used in amusement park rides and how soon it will be able to be implemented. I do agree with the article that this vest is very bulky and this seems to be why VR technology has not fully taken off. If these researchers are able to make this vest into something that is light weight and allows for mobility, I can see this vest being used in everyday gaming, in parks, and maybe even some medical uses. I see that those before me have commented that this type of technology is off putting but I don't see it that way. There are so many people in the world who are unable to leave their house and experience even the simplest of things. This technology is one step closer to allowing people to immerse themselves into a whole new world, uninhibited by societal or physical restraints.
Wow I love this idea and concept bringing more senses into an environment to touch and to explore. I don't know though how exactly this will work on a human body. How will it work and how will it be received. I know from my own experience that certain VR set ups currently out there are very interesting and immersive to use but for some reason as a person with glasses I know that when i put the Vr head set on I instantly know and feel that I am in something fake. With this vest I could see this becoming a problem with people who don't feel things the same way or people who are sensitive to certain things how would it change their interaction with the environment. There's no telling were this technology is going quiet yet in the world and when/if its final purpose will be in the entertainment industry.
An interesting idea and execution. I never would have though that simple pressure from airbags would induce such sensations as something like a snake sliding around you is so specific in location and has that slimy feel along with the weird muscular movement. It doesn’t simply feel like pressure in a line. This also makes me think that we are getting closer and closer to the world that is portrayed in Ready Player One. We already have the VR technology and as it turned out the omni-directional treadmill was real and being improved upon even now. We have this jacket which I am sure will quickly turn into a full haptic feedback suit like the one in the movie. It is a little weird to think our world is coming to this but pretty impressive and cool at the same time. I’m excited to see were this technology ends up but with caution that we need to be aware the direction we are moving.
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