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Jacket Lets You Feel the Movies 111

Posted by CmdrTaco from the hands-of-doctor-manhattan dept.
sp3cialk79 writes "Researchers from Philips Electronics plan to describe a jacket they have lined with vibration motors to study the effects of touch on a movie viewer's emotional response to what the characters are experiencing. 'People don't realize how sensitive we are to touch, although it is the first sense that fetuses develop in the womb,' says Paul Lemmens, a Philips senior scientist who will be presenting research done using the jacket at the IEEE-sponsored 2009 World Haptics Conference in Salt Lake City. The jacket contains 64 independently controlled actuators distributed across the arms and torso. The actuators are arrayed in 16 groups of four and linked along a serial bus; each group shares a microprocessor. The actuators draw so little current that the jacket could operate for an hour on its two AA batteries even if the system was continuously driving 20 of the motors simultaneously."
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Jacket Lets You Feel the Movies More

Jacket Lets You Feel the Movies

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  • Cause I just envisioned someone wearing this jacket in a seedy "adult" theater.

    • Re:I think I just threw up in my mouth a little... (Score:5, Funny)

      by gnick ( 1211984 ) on Thursday March 19, 2009 @11:09AM (#27256171) Homepage

      This is just the field marketable prototype. The money-maker won't be the jacket - It will be the boxer-briefs.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Shakrai ( 717556 )

      Cause I just envisioned someone wearing this jacket in a seedy "adult" theater.

      Every new technology will first be used to find new and interesting ways of getting ourselves off. We really haven't changed all that much since we started walking upright, have we? ;)

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by 192939495969798999 ( 58312 )

      Don't worry, in any adult theater, there's a strict "jacket off" policy.

    • Re:I think I just threw up in my mouth a little... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 ) on Thursday March 19, 2009 @11:35AM (#27256545) Homepage

      Heck with a "seedy" theater. a regular theater and I'm going ....EEEEEEEEEW!!!

      Have you seen how disgusting your fellow humans are? when your feet stick to the floor in a theater and you find booger encrusted seats.. No thanks, I'm not putting on any jacket that some gross sweaty stinkbomb wore last...

      There is a reason they always keep the lights low in theaters.. so you dont get gross and puke all over the place from what's all over your seat.

      • "Have you seen how disgusting your fellow humans are? when your feet stick to the floor in a theater and you find booger encrusted seats.. No thanks, I'm not putting on any jacket that some gross sweaty stinkbomb wore last..."

        Interesting...my first thoughts were not that it would be something the theater provided, but, something YOU as the individual would purchase, and bring with you. That way you could use it at the movies and at home for your home theater.

        The pr0n possibilities really go up if this is

    • WHile some may feel inclined or predisposed to wearing this "jack"et in such (or suck) movies to feel emmembered, i'd be disinclined from wearing one involving dangerous stunt action films or horror flicks involving dismemeberment... Or, even in a sinking submarine film or a violent cockpit ejection scene... COuld give verti-go! a whole (hole) new mean(ing)... imagine hundreds of moviegoers stuck to the ceiling...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mcgrew ( 92797 )

      I wouldn't want to wear that jacket to a Die Hard movie!

    • Seedy? Jacket?

      Imagination of a petunia.

      > "Researchers from Philips Electronics plan to describe a jacket
      > they have lined with vibration motors to study the effects of
      > touch on a movie viewer's emotional response to what the characters are experiencing.

      I claim a patent on pants lined with vibration motors!

    • My first thought was that someone would probably try to watch Lolita with this jacket.

  • Where's the penis attachment?

  • Are those your actuators acting up or are you just happy to see me?
  • Haptic Compass [exothermia.net]

    (The form factor's pretty terrible, though. Need to get one of those LilyPad Arduinos or something, and tiiny motors, and make it unnoticeable to the passerby...)

  • As important? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by imajinarie ( 1057148 ) on Thursday March 19, 2009 @11:07AM (#27256131)
    What ever happened to focusing on the sense of smell for more intimate immersion? I could see that being difficult at the movie theater, especially when watching movies about Orc's and Hobbits, but still - scent was supposed to be the next big thing!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Chyeld ( 713439 )

      They got it working and then realized they really shouldn't have.

      That, or like most of us they realized that smells are formed by discrete chemicals which would need to be kept in supply and would require the theater to be "hosed down" often to ensure that "slightly sulfer" smell from the Dante's Peak remake isn't still lingering around when the romantic comedy I Want to Cook Your Eggs plays.

    • Ah, brings back memories of Count Floyd and Dr. Tongue's, 3-D House of Slave Chics in SMELL-A-RAMA
  • Anyone else remember Sensurround [wikipedia.org]? I remember seeing what I remember as a "Battlestar Galactica" movie in Sensurround, but I wasn't moved by the experience.

    • I saw "Midway" (I thought I remembered it being "Tora Tora Tora", but according to the Wikipedia article, I guess it must have been "Midway") in Sensurround, and vaguely recall being impressed by the movie, but I don't remember the Sensurround aspect specifically - must not have made that much of an impression on my 10-year-old self.

  • >>the jacket could operate for an hour on its two AA batteries

    Don't movies last more than one hour?

  • Caution Required. (Score:4, Funny)

    by senorpoco ( 1396603 ) on Thursday March 19, 2009 @11:08AM (#27256145)
    Do not wear during during Die Hard.

  • PeeWee Herman (Score:5, Funny)

    by AmigaHeretic ( 991368 ) on Thursday March 19, 2009 @11:08AM (#27256149) Journal
    This jacket sounds expensive, but the pants are half off!

  • Part of the fun of movies is that sometimes you switch which person you're relating to most. This kind of device would kind of have to make a choice for you...

    But I do think action movies might be serious fun. It's more like one of those 3D Disney Theater experiences...

    I would not want to see Rocky with one of these, though. Ug. Ow. Ooof.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Chyeld ( 713439 )

      Why not the cammera's. Just because you 'feel' for a character doesn't mean you want to 'feel' them. It'd be enough to enjoy the rush of standing '2 feet' from the action while they took the hits.

  • Novel uses (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ObsessiveMathsFreak ( 773371 ) <obsessivemathsfreak.eircom@net> on Thursday March 19, 2009 @11:08AM (#27256161) Homepage Journal

    The single best use of this device would be to constrict and asphyxiate anyone in the cinema who insists on talking or fidgeting or generally disrupting others during the film. I would be especially in favour of its use on disruptive children, of all ages.

    • Re: (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      The single best use of this device would be to constrict and asphyxiate anyone in the cinema who insists on talking or fidgeting or generally disrupting others during the film. I would be especially in favour of its use on disruptive children, of all ages.

      Force choke!!!

    • I respectfully disagree. Children should be tolerated in theaters as they must learn proper social skills. They can't be kept at home all the time in the fear that they'll disturb other people...they'd never develop socially.

      Please be patient with parents that are attempting to enjoy a good time with their families.

      While some parents deserve to be shot for ignoring the child screaming or talking or otherwise causing an extended raucous, some parents are doing what needs to be done (i.e. completely ign

      • I've no problem with parents that bring their children out with them. I do have a problem with parents who have uncontrollable children to begin with.

        It's not an issue of learning social skills; it's an issue with overly permissive parents who are mortally afraid that they'll somehow warp their precious child if the use even the slightest bit of corporal punishment at home. If junior knows that he'll get smacked for disobeying in public, maybe he'd be a little quieter.

        For what it's worth, I think it's a sh

        • I completely agree.

          Parents have become, in general, glorified caregivers and society has attempted to remove discipline for intolerable actions and replace it with encouragement to do better. This is the beginning of people that don't understand work-place discipline (written up, fired, etc..), and sue their employer for discrimination or other trumped up charges. Or they think the corrections system should give all criminals shrinks instead of hard-time.

          My original argument still stands, however. So
        • For what it's worth, I think it's a shame that politicians have made it illegal these days to smack kids for misbehaving in public.

          For what it's worth, I think it's a shame that parents are too self-conscious these days to smack their kids for misbehaving in public. And I think it's abominable that this is for some reason discouraged by so many. Corporal punishment works, especially on the young.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by ObsessiveMathsFreak ( 773371 )

        Please be patient with parents that are attempting to enjoy a good time with their families.

        ...and the horse you rode in on sir. And the horse you rode in on.

        Children should never, ever, be taken anywhere where they are expected to act like an adult. They're not going to learn social skills in the cinema, or in a church service, or on an airplane with a captive audience. They'll learn them in a playground, or in a school, or somewhere where they are not expected to act like they're 30+ years of age.

        Does th

        • not that it matters too much, but I'm 24, no kids.

          I can't really understand the hard-line distinction between "adult" activities and "child" activities. I understand the examples you gave (Bar vs playground, etc..) but the theatre is more or less an in-between place. It isn't just for adults or just for kids. Does a 4 yr old need to be in the 4 hour opening night for "Dances with Wolves"? Hell no. But can a parent take their child to see Wall-E (or whatever it was) in the movies on opening night, which j

      • I think it's debatable as to whether someone who has just paid £8 to watch a film should really be forced to take part in parenting other people children.

  • It was either "Kentucky Fried Movie" or "Amazon Women on the Moon" that had a funny skit called Feel-a-vision. An usher performed the 'feeling' part for the patron - the first movie was a detective mystery; the second was announced as Deep Throat (at which point the movie patron ran away at great speed). Someone who remembers it better should chime in with the details - the motto of the decade seems to be "Everything old is new again, this time with computers!"

  • Or porn jokes. "Lawnmower Man" references. Etc.

  • Old Idea (Score:3, Interesting)

    by lobiusmoop ( 305328 ) on Thursday March 19, 2009 @11:11AM (#27256211) Homepage

    Reminds me of the 'Feelies' in Huxley's 'Brave New World'. It will probably end up being mainly used in the same fashion. (i.e. for porn)

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by foobsr ( 693224 )
      Reminds me of the 'Feelies' in Huxley's 'Brave New World'.

      You beat me to it. Besides (porn etc.), this will add up to humanity loosing a or the sense reality, or, from a different perspective, the subset of 'reality' (still) shared among most will be further diminished.

      CC.
  • In this economy, won't someone think of the Feel-Around [youtube.com] theater employees?

  • Touching people [t11s.com] over IP....

  • By whatever you hold Holy, please keep this technology away from Michael Bay. And while you're at it, hide his cameras.

  • If you want to feel the movies, get a kickass sound system. Your whole ROOM will vibrate!

  • Games? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Quothz ( 683368 ) on Thursday March 19, 2009 @11:28AM (#27256463) Journal

    A similar jacket may make an interesting game feedback device.

    The thump of a bullet hitting your back in a shooter would be nifty directional feedback. A tap on the shoulder in the dark of a horror game could be startling. The grip on your arm of a frightened refugee you're escorting through a combat zone, an opponent trying to tickle you in a fighting game as a distraction. And of course the same feedback scenarios mentioned in TFA, just in games rather than movies.

    Of course, the cost would probably relegate such a thing to a niche market, but it'd be fun component t'play around with in a game's design.

    • Re:Games? (Score:5, Funny)

      by jlf278 ( 1022347 ) on Thursday March 19, 2009 @12:35PM (#27257505)

      "The thump of a bullet hitting your back in a shooter would be nifty directional feedback"

      Yeah, that's like the first thing they teach you in the Army. Always turn your back to the enemy. If a hostile is dumb enough to shoot you, you can easily extrapolate their location from the force and angle of penetration.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Quothz ( 683368 )

        Yeah, that's like the first thing they teach you in the Army. Always turn your back to the enemy. If a hostile is dumb enough to shoot you, you can easily extrapolate their location from the force and angle of penetration.

        Yeah, I remember that drill, always right after rocket-jump exercises and just before first aid.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by syousef ( 465911 )

        Yeah, that's like the first thing they teach you in the Army. Always turn your back to the enemy. If a hostile is dumb enough to shoot you, you can easily extrapolate their location from the force and angle of penetration.

        Thanks. Now I've got a mental image of a troop charging the enemy running backwards and firing their weapons over their shoulders as they yell "aaaaaarr".

    • Also think of its possible use in military training for combat exercises...

    • You mean like the TN products that are on the market since about a year?
      http://tngames.com/products [tngames.com]

      This year they will release the helmet where you can fell the head shots.

  • People^WLonely scientists don't realize how sensitive we are to touch

    FTFY.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Make sure you don't ask for the wrong jacket [imdb.com]. Results may vary.

  • don't think I need a jacket to feel the movies....shoot....my feet (technically my shoes) already feel the stick floors, my back and butt feel the crappy seats, my ears feel the pain of idiots who don't shut the hell up when the movie starts, my eyes feel the pain when watching endless amounts of advertising....all starts with my wallet feeling lighter.

    besides, I'm sure there are some movies, u don't want to feel....(the new street fighter movie comes to mind)

  • Would buy gloves that would turn my iPhone into a Model M.
  • As long as it doesn't crush me like Luke in the garbage compacter, I'll be good.

  • "People don't realize how sensitive we are to touch..."

    I think most people realize that we are very sensitive to touch

  • I have plenty of touch when I view movies.

  • for the cod piece.

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  • Raging Bull or Rocky would be cool.

  • This seems to be a perfect technology for augmented reality applications. One of the problems of interacting with avatars in a augmented reality space is that you can't have any actual physical contact, only audio & visual. This could provide that next layer of interaction that could make the experience something unique. Yeah I know many are thinking of finding significant others (or AI significant others) for something like this. However even beyond that this type of technology is exactly what the

  • I'll start:

    Make me actuate, make me actuate!

  • Seriously this is quite possibly the best idea ever, I can't wait to start watching movies, and being able to feel them.

    I can't wait to watch:
    Irreversible [imdb.com]
    Quills [imdb.com]
    The Hurt Locker [imdb.com]
    A Clockwork Orange [imdb.com] ... and similar.

    Will the jacket have a rape function built in?

  • "The Tingler is loose in THIS theater! Scream! Scream for your lives!"

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tingler#Percepto:_.22Scream_for_your_lives.21.22 [wikipedia.org]

  • A Camera that is a floating sphere, that records the 3dimensional imagery of everything, the smells, sounds and feelings of everything....

    and one day the recorded data of this sphere is just plugged into your brain.

    I imagine this will happen even before 3Dimensional practical 3D holographic projectors are created.

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