https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZOx-mEqbuk
Virtual reality is a crazy within the gaming industry that seems to continually grow in both support and newer, better technology – FeelReal is yet another form of newer and better tech coming out of the business.
Featured above, you can view an overview trailer for the add-on that is reportedly compatible with the Oculus Rift, the Samsung Gear VR, the Zeiss VR One, and even Sony’s Project Morpheus. Ominous monologues from The Matrix aside, the headset comes with a lot of tech built into it, namely two microcoolers that generate a cool wind flow, two microheaters with temperature detectors, vibro engines with adjustable vibration, an ultrasonic ionizing system that produces water mist – and finally, an odor generator with up to seven (swappable) unique smells!
So what the hell does all of that mean? So long as you properly utilize the FeelReal SDK, you can enable both video games and even movies to trigger the various mechanisms in the headset to recreate whatever is on screen, i.e. wind, rain, heat, or a bit of all the above. So while this is supposed to be easily attached to the various mainstream virtual reality headsets, it still requires some kind of external adaptation in game, or a movie.
FeelReal comes with a built-in rechargeable battery, which the creators say will provide you with four hours of continuous playback, as well as bluetooth 2.0 with connectivity up to 30ft, and a built-in bluetooth microphone as well. The seven swappable smell cartridges actually come with seven free smells, which include: jungle, ocean, flowers, fire, gunpowder, aphrodisiacs, and burning rubber.
There are also some other scents you can pick up for a dollar each, which include green apple, red apple, apricot, banana, blackberry, blueberry ice mint, blueberry, and bubble gum. The crew at FeelReal also enable people to order completely new fragrances, at $300 for 10 cartridges. So while there’s lots of fragrance options, there are seemingly two FeelReal options that come in at $249 and $299, although it’s not clear what the difference between each version is. There’s also three sizes (small, medium, large), which also aren’t really described properly (exact dimensions).
A release date for FeelReal isn’t really found anywhere on the prototype’s official website, but the crew was at this year’s Game Developers Conference, and they made sure to record peoples’ reactions after trying the prototype.
