It's called haptics, and Surround allows you to immerse yourself in the scenes, as well as by sight, even with the touchThe Disney Research Centre, Carnegie Mellon University, specializing in neuroscience applied to new technologies, and the Black Rock Studio, a research center for the creation of video games, have developed a new technology can bring to life directly "on their skin "the feelings of the protagonists and to immerse themselves in the scenes, as well as by sight, even with the touch.
This revolution in the field of films and video games has been called by its inventors Surround Haptics and presented in Canada, in Vancouver, during the international conference Siggraph 2011, dedicated to computer graphics and interactive technologies.
The system consists of a padded chair vibrating device, called adapters, controlled by a software that can create a "virtual actuator" that allows us to perceive continuous movements on the skin that are very close to the real ones.
The software also controls the position of the actuators, adapting to user's movements, and the intensity of the sensations on the skin, so they are perfectly in sync with the scenes of the video you are watching or video game in which you are playing.
"The perceptions generated by the actuators - Scientists have explained - are called 'phantom sensations' and have been studied since the fifties. But their use in video 'Touch' has so far been limited due to an incomplete understanding of mechanisms of control actuators used to generate the sensations. "
According to the researchers, the technology has wide range of applications and can also be incorporated in other settings, such as clothing and gloves. If you watch a video that simulates a race car sitting in a chair equipped with Surround haptics technology, the technology allows, for example, to hear the imperfections of the road, falling objects on a machine, or feel dizzy, accelerated , braking and collisions with other vehicles or objects in a realistic way. If the system is, however, inserted in a sheath that wraps an arm, provide researchers, haptics Surround allows you to receive a pat on the arm as if it were true simulated.