"Reach Out. Reach Out and Touch Someone."
That was the catchphrase which Bell Telephone used back in 1979 to try & convince consumers to make more long distance phones. But someday soon, the Mouse may find itself reviving this slogan as a way to promote Surround Haptics, a next generation home-gaming platform that Disney Research, Pittsburgh has recently developed which features tactile technology.
"And what's tactile technology?," you ask. Well, if you'd like to see an actual demonstration of this amazing technology, you first need to head to Vancouver. Where - now through Thursday - artists, scientists and designers from around the globe have gathered at the Vancouver Convention Centre for SIGGRAPH 2011.
Copyright 2011 ACM SIGGRAPH. All rights reserved
And once you get to this convention center, you need to head to Ballroom B in the West Building. Which is where some of Carnegie Mellon's top brains, Disney Research, Pittsburgh and Black Rock Studios (AKA Disney Interactive Studios) have set up a demo that literally promises to " ... send shivers down your spine."
"And how are they planning on doing that?," you query. Through Surround Haptics, which supposedly marries " ... highly detailed and dynamic tactile experiences with full-body motion controls, stereoscopic visuals, and spatial sound." In short, this home-gaming system prototype has the ability to transform you from being a passive participant to someone who actually feels like they're inside of the game that they're playing.
Part of the demo in Ballroom B involves a tricked-up version of Disney Interactive Studios' driving simulation game, "Split / Second." Where all of the experiences that the "driver" experiences over the course of this racing game being significantly enhanced due to complex tactile sensations. Which means that - as you move through "Split/Second" 's constantly-exploding CG race course - you can actually feel the potholes in the road that you're traveling on. Not to mention sinking back into your seat as your race car accelerates and/or be jarred by your collisions with other cars on this virtual race course.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
And the best part of Surround Haptics? This technology (at least according to what the folks at Carnegie Mellon and Disney Research, Pittsburgh are claiming) is supposedly inexpensive. More importantly, because it's compact and can make use of off-the-shelf tactile actuators, Surround Haptics can easily be incorporated into clothing, furniture and gaming accessories.
And to nail this concept home, as part of their " ... send shivers down your spine" demo, the Surround Haptics design team have set up a modular home tactile display. Which is basically this custom-built plywood chair that could also be used as your standard computer desk chair. You know the type that I'm talking about, right? With soft pads on the seat and backrest? The only difference between this computer desk chair and the one that you have at home is that the soft pads that have been built into this custom-built plywood chair featuring embedded tactile grids. Not to mention a wireless control board. Which means that anyone seated in this chair can then control the game that they want to play using full-body gestures (which are then recognized by Microsoft's controller-free gaming system, Kinect).
Copyright 2011 Disney Research, Pittsburgh. All rights reserved
"So what's the point of using all of this off-the-shelf technology and pre-existing game control systems as part of this demo at SIGGRAPH 2011?," you continue. It's simple, really. Think of this demo of a very public proof-of-concept of a technological innovation that Disney would very much like to bring to the marketplace soon. How soon? Perhaps as early as the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show.
But for now - if you'd like to sample the artfully designed algorithm that lies at the very heart of Surround Haptics (which then takes advantage of months & months of psychophysical studies that The Walt Disney Company funded. Which gave the folks at Carnegie Mellon University and Disney Research, Pittsburgh a far better understanding of how our brains & bodies actually process tactile sensation) - there's only one place on the planet where you can experience this groundbreaking technology. And that's Ballroom B in the West Building at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Now - if you'll excuse me - I've got to go check Priceline and see if there are any affordable flights to Canada out there.
Special thanks to Noe Valladolid for giving me a head-ups about this amazing Disney-related demo at SIGGRAPH 2011.
These are not Carnegie Mellon people. These are pure Disney people. Nothing to do with CMU.