Virtual reality is currently at the top of the technology news this year in 2015 with all major companies announcing products to enhance and be able to use the VR experience.
With all the awesome excitement about, a company called Feelreal may just increase our excitement towards virtual reality even more!
With the growing mainstream of virtual reality headsets, Feelreal is currently developing a prototype that would immerse you into a world of visuals with scents, wind, heat and even vibrations.
Imagine this, playing your favorite VR game in a world that’s packed with jungles to hack through; wouldn’t the visual experience be enough? If you’re answer’s “NO”, then you’re in luck. Thanks to Feelreal, you can experience not only the virtual reality world, but also smell the scents, feel the heat, and savor the breeze. As stated by Feelreal itself, it is a fully functional prototype for video games and 3D movies that puts VR technology to a new level.
Here’s a list of scents that you can experience from Feelreal:
- Ocean
- Jungle
- Fire
- Grass
- Powder
- Flowers
- Metal
How Feelreal Works
To be precise, the Feelreal is not a headset per se, but rather a strap-on to an existing headset like Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift, and Sony Morpheus, etc. It is supposed to be connected onto the bottom of your VR headset to optimally adhere to your senses.
There might be a query on where the microphone will go especially when the Feelreal mask will entirely cover your face, but you shouldn’t worry as the mask has a built-in bluetooth microphone. It can stay powered for 4 hours with a built-in rechargeable battery.
The Good And The Bad And The Ugly
Starting off with the ‘Bad’, VR headsets are already a bit burdensome with its size and weight. Attaching another device would probably double its weight or more. While it could only mean a little bit of getting used to, it’s still a big deal for others especially those with neck and/or spinal problems.
For the ‘Good’, let us not forget about the new experience it brings. It would actually be awesome to feel the breeze and smell the ocean. However it is kind of uncomfortable smelling metal or feeling the heat, but hey, you can just skip it by removing your mask!
And for our ‘Ugly’, with the capabilities of your Feelreal mask, you can just stay safely at home enjoying the scent of flowers, feeling the cool breeze on your cheeks, and even the smell of the ocean! But it would all be fake. Take heed as technology can be quite addictive and in this case, it could hinder you from experiencing the true pleasantries of nature.
Unsure?
Given the additional experience of scent and feel from the virtual reality gives me more curiosity than excitement itself. Simply because you wouldn’t know how all this will work being an extra hardware plug-in to the developing VR headsets. At the moment you can pre-order the Feelreal mask for $249.99. I personally think it is quite an expensive addition to when the headsets come out. If Feelreal ever succeed on this project, what will come up next by them or another revolutionary company?
