Oculus Rift has definitely brought immersion in the world of video games to a whole new level, but are there other ways to let one “feel” the virtual world? Haptic gaming vests have been worked on in the past, but those never really made it to mainstream consciousness, which is something the KOR-FX haptic vest intends to change.
A company known as Immerz, having been founded by a physicist five years ago, had the vision to roll out a lightweight haptic vest that targeted gamers. One of their earlier attempts did appear at CES 2010, but Immerz did not come under the spotlight afterwards, at least not until this year with their latest version of the haptic gaming vest that is already ready for pre-order.
The KOR-FX haptic vest has been specially designed to fit into just about any kind of body type, where gamers are able to forget that they are wearing it while they play, at least until they receive a blow in a beat ‘em up. Many advancements have been made to the KOR-FX haptic vest, including the ability to work over a wireless connection, allowing you to wear it even when you are on board a gaming treadmill. There will be on-chest buttons and dials which allows you to control just how much of an impact you would like to feel.
The KOR-FX haptic vest is capable of delivering different effects depending on the detected in-game “impact”. For instance, explosions will pulse through your body, and if you were shot in the back, your shoulder will feel it. There is no word on pricing just yet, although a delivery date should happen later this year.
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