It seems like Disney Research is always working on something interesting, like a robot that can play catch. Now, they have created a device known as AIREAL (pronounce it like Ariel, the Little Mermaid) which brings haptic feedback to the Kinect.
You heard me right. All that motion control that Kinect gives will soon have an element of touch to it. I case you are wondering how that is possible, check out the video to see how it works.
You see that really cool square device? See how it shoots rings, provided it has some smoke generator attached to it? These “tight vortices of air” is how it works, and it looks like a few of them are required to create the experience of “feeling” the game.
Still, you got to like how a butterfly can be “felt” on the user’s arm. I can’t help but wonder what adding the element of touch will do in a game. Considering there are only a few of these actuators here, the possibilities are somewhat limited, at least for now.
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