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Thermoelectrics Could Let You Feel the Heat In Games

Posted by timothy on from the better-than-bullet-wounds dept.

myshadows writes "Tech Review has an interesting article on how Tokyo Metropolitan University researchers have been able to give a sensory addition to gaming peripherals — namely, temperature. 'As the range of interactions with digital environments expands, it's logical to ask what's next: Smell-o-vision has been on the horizon for something like 50 years, but there's a dark horse stalking this race: thermoelectrics. Based on the Peltier effect, these solid-state devices are easy to incorporate into objects of reasonable size, i.e. video game controllers. In this configuration, just announced at the 2010 SIGGRAPH conference, a pair of thermoelectric surfaces on either side of a controller rapidly heat up or cool down in order to simulate appropriate conditions in a virtual environment.'"

9 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Watch where you put that! by d474 · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's not the size of your joystick that counts, it's how HOT it gets!

    Truth be told, I have not yet been able to verify my hypothesis on this matter with a willing test subject.

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  2. What could possibly go wrong? by thomasdz · · Score: 3, Funny

    As I'm hit and fall into the pit of lava, the safety overrides fail and suddenly, yeah, my peripherals are trying their best to get me up to a thousand degrees C.
    THIS is why I continue to play Nethack.

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    1. Re:What could possibly go wrong? by stagg · · Score: 2, Funny

      As I'm hit and fall into the pit of lava, the safety overrides fail and suddenly, yeah, my peripherals are trying their best to get me up to a thousand degrees C. THIS is why I continue to play Nethack.

      The controller suddenly welds itself to your hand! Do you want your possessions identified?

  3. You will be baked by Megahard · · Score: 5, Funny

    .. and then there will be cake.

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    1. Re:You will be baked by DarkKnightRadick · · Score: 3, Funny

      The cake is a lie.

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  4. Electric charge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wouldn't it be lovely if the controller could deal electric shocks? Or pretend-drown the player? "Because we can" isn't always sufficient justification.

  5. Re:I think the air force tried something like this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I think Joe The Dragon tried to rape a small child once.

    Random, vague, unverifiable claims are fun.

  6. In Soviet Russia, by uremog · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cooking Mama cooks you!

  7. Re:For an even greater sensation... by Rogerborg · · Score: 2, Funny

    I wonder if one could get used to the pain signals after a while.

    Only if you are human.

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