Disney unveils a prototype virtual-reality jacket | Hacker News Reader

Disney unveils a prototype virtual-reality jacket

washingtonpost.com

57 pointsmpweiher13 comments

It's interesting but I can't help but think we'll look back at videos like these the same way we look at artists renditions of futuristic sky-cities with people flying jet packs to work. The future in this area is eventually going to be some kind of neural interface to inject sensation into our brains, not inflating bags of air in a jacket.

I agree. This feels too low tech of a long term solution. Hell, it is pretty much the same idea I had over 20 years ago as a kid when they added vibration to game controllers.

I thought why can't they add this to a suit I wear so I can feel getting shot and what direction it came from.

I don't know if letting a computer hack into my brain to add sensation would be my preferred solution to it, but there has to be a better way.

I agree with looking back and it looking like a crazy way to solve the problem. However, I do think these solutions are critical to achieve the brain injected sensation.

Since advancement of technology is usually derived from adoption of older technology to fund the new advancement, this solution is a great way to prove that people actually want this type of immersive experience. If they do, the race is on to lower the cost and improve the convenience. Without it, we probably wont see much.

I see 3D glasses as the same. The idea that people would wear glasses to watch a 3D movie is crazy when you consider that we already see 3D without glasses, and the solution should therefore be in the TV, not on our face.

Or taxi drivers in a world where cars drive themselves.

> The idea that people would wear glasses to watch a 3D movie is crazy when you consider that we already see 3D without glasses

We already see 3D scenes without glasses. The problem is tricking ourselves into seeing 2D scenes as if they were 3D.

The day we have brain injected sensations... is the start of the fall of society.

You think we can handle that kind of leisure? We're failing at posting pictures and oversharing information because of the dopamine hit.

I agree, right now we wouldn't be able to handle the effect. I feel it will take new generations who will be able to handle it. Much like movies today are more intense, fast paced and pushing the envelope that 30 years ago. Not saying it's right though.

The eye is a pretty direct light-to-neural activity interface, so I can't see that being replaced for a long time.

Whenever I hear this I'm always reminded of Ian M. Banks' infamous Mind (AI/Ship), the Gray Area, showing off his collection of torture devices to a passenger. Many of the Minds collect weird things as a hobby.

The centre piece being the neural lace, a VR device embedded in the mind of virtually every culture citizen which they use to communicate, dream fantastic dreams and experience amazing things in total safety.

Which it remarks on being the most effective torture device ever invented.

You should watch the episode of Black Mirror where a game developer creates a horror game with a neural link causing the gamer to "see" and "feel" things that aren't there. It goes horribly wrong. Let's hope this future you imagine never arrives.

I had to stop myself while watching the S4E3 episode Crocodile near the end. Holy moly what a dark episode.

This is far from the first of its kind: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haptic_suit

Tried the multiplayer VR experience at Disney in Orlando recently (Star Wars themed shooter game in teams 4 of connected headsets).

It was cool but the ability to integrate the physical side is definitely a limitation (i.e. getting shot at by Stormtroopers, and I think they tried to add an unconvincing rumble effect using the backpack if memory serves).

This one is also worth mentioning: https://senso.me/

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