Disney Research has developed a 360-degree virtual realityapplication using a unique chair to provide full body sensations that enables users to add customisable "feel effects" such as falling rain or a beating heart.
The haptic definition app, called VR360HD, was developed and tested using a consumer headset and Disney Research's haptic chair.
The chair features a grid of six vibrotactile actuators in its back and two subwoofers, or "shakers," in the seat and back.
The grid produces localised moving sensations in the back, while the subwoofers shake two different regions of the body and can create a sensation of motion.
Users were able to select from a library of feel effects, also assembled and tested by Disney Research.
These feel effects are identified with common terms such as rain, pulsing or rumbling, and can be adjusted so that people can distinguish, for instance, between a light sprinkle and a heavy downpour.