Philips Force Feedback Jacket Being Tested
Interesting news from tomshardware today. As it seems Dutch absed Philips Electronics is working on a Force Feedback jacket, allowing end-users feel their multimedia content in an entirely new way:
The jacket developed by Philips Electronic is built around a series of physical actuators to affect the user, instead of sound or motion based vibration. Sixty-four independently controlled actuators are distributed throughout the jacket, from the torso down to the arms. The sixty-four actuators are paired in arrays of four and linked via a serial bus, with each array sharing its own microprocessor.
Surprisingly, the power needs of the jacket are small. Just two AA batteries can power the jacket for one full hour, even if twenty of the actuators were triggered continuously.
Even more impressive is the actual rate in which the actuators can be triggered. Each actuator is capable of being cycled on and off at a rate of 100 times per second. While the bulk of the actuators are centered around the torso, the arms still receive sufficient stimulation with its eight actuators per sleeve. By using four actuators in the front and four in the back of each sleeve, the sensation of an arm being touched or tapped in several different spots is achieved through a phenomenon called the "cutaneous rabbit illusion."
Certainly interesting in concept, we definitely look forward to seeing this technology in action in not just movie based applications, but also in games.
Philips intros four new Blu-ray players - 09/04/2009 09:02 AM
At the IFA 2009 show on Thursday, Philips has introduced four new Blu-ray players, including the flagship BDP9500. It has a number of video processing technologies Philips collectively calls Qdeo, whi...
Philips prices 56-inch Cinema 21:9 HDTV - 07/02/2009 08:12 AM
Philips has priced its 56-inch, 21:9 aspect ratio Cinema 21:9 HDTV it first introduced just after CES in January. While release dates are still unknown, the TV will cost the equivalent of about $7,400...
Philips Releases LED Light Bulb - 03/10/2009 02:06 AM
Using just 7 watt, but providing light like a regular 40 watt light bulb, the Philips MASTER LED bulb is the first of its kind. Philips states that this LED bulb neither emits heat, UV or IR in the be...
Philips 21:9 52-inch LCD gets priced and dated - 02/21/2009 10:39 AM
Philips has priced out the unprecedented 21:9 Cinema LCD and announced a June release in UK. The 52-inch ultra wide Cinema display will cost you
Philips Cinema LCD TV with 21:9 aspect ratio - 01/16/2009 11:08 AM
Oh sheesh, instant hard-on. Philips has announced the 56" Cinema 21:9 LCD TV, this is the first TV that features the same aspect ratio as movie theaters. The Cinema TV will be available in Spring...