Slashdot Mirror
High-Tech Vest Lets Gamers Take a Hit
mytrip passed on a link to a PC World post about a unique accessory for FPS gamers. Called the 3rdSpace Gaming Vest, its goal is to translate in-game impacts into physical sensations. "Designed by a surgeon, the vest was originally created for use in the medical field to poke and prod patients in order to get a sense for what they were feeling. Since then, the vest has been adapted for the game industry, capable of delivering hits and shots exactly where you would feel them. Utilizing air pouches — four on front, four in back — the vest nudges and jabs gamers at eight different contact points."
I predict the porno industry will find a use for it first, always being on the cutting edge as they are.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
I saw "take a hit" and wondered why /. had an article about gamers playing stoned, only to RTFS and feel like an idiot.
i hope it can be used over the net, so i can finally punch the guy who won't capture the flag.
I'm NOT gonna wear their wired cod piece
Table-ized A.I.
Soon you'll be able to feel me stabbing you in the face in the next vi/emacs flamewar.
Otherwise it would've looked totally stupid...
People generally don't really buy such "specialty gaming peripherals", especially not the mass gaming market. While the idea itself is rather cool (although it would be cooler if it had electric shocks for the masochistic among us), these kinds of devices just never seem to catch on.
The video game market has seen all kinds of niche peripherals throughout the years...octagonal rings to stand in, treadmills to run on, gloves and goggles to wear, scores of vibrating chairs and seats, weird orbs and wheels and hands-free input devices...loads and loads of things. People just don't really buy them because they either don't work as well as intended, they only work well with a couple of different games, or the peripheral is just too damn expensive for most of us.
However, where such oddities really shine is in the arcade. It would be awesome to build arcade game unit that incorporated different input or sensory technologies which would really immerse the player into another world. Arcade games are perfect for that sort of thing because a whole game is built around the external unit.
Terrorists can't threaten a country's freedom and democracy. Only lawmakers and voters can do that.
With no ability to register any shots to your arms, legs, crotch, ass, or headshots... plus only four air bags on front and back, it sounds like it sure can let me feel *exactly* where I'd get hit.
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
Don't forget the headband attachment so you can enjoy every headshot in UT3. :P
The Navy's been working on a system similar to this for years. However, where this system is for gaming, theirs is for pilots, Seals, etc (anyone who might need more info than they can look at). Its not in full use yet, but the website is http://www.namrl.navy.mil/accel/tsas/. Since everything but the homepage is broken, here's a brief rundown: normal vest, pneumatically activated vibrating bumps (about 30 sewn into the vest, each about the size of a dime), air pumps, controller. Program the controller to activate the pumps based on whatever input you want (ie, where is and how far away is the ground, where is the enemy). Each pump is tied to one bump (vibro-tactile actuator, if you want to get all nerdy). With the right controller setup, you can fly blind, land in a snowstorm, or lose sight of an enemy without losing awareness of where they are.