Get Ready For Multisensory Virtual Reality That Goes Far Beyond Sight And Sound
In October, I had the opportunity to try out the Rez Synesthesia Suit: A Velcro-on body rig concept that uses countless pulsing motors to add the sense of touch to virtual reality experiences. The experience was rough, but somewhat amazing: As I waved my hand through HTC Vive-rendered bubbles, I could "feel" their presence.
If you don't remember the Digiscents iSmell Personal Scent Synthesizer, you are far from alone. Widely regarded as one of the biggest flops in gadget history (and and a mainstay of "Worst Ever" lists), the 2001 computer peripheral promised to emit a wide range of specific smells while users surfed the Web. As Wikipedia describes it: "The device contained a cartridge with 128 'primary odors' which could be mixed to replicate natural and man-made odors. DigiScents had indexed thousands of common odors, which could be coded, digitized, and embedded into web pages or email."