Touch interfaces and haptic feedback are already a part of how we interact with computers, in the form of iPads, rumbling video game controllers and even three-dimensional joysticks. As the range of interactions with digital environments expands, it's logical to ask what's next: Smell-o-vision has been on the horizon for something like 50 years, but there's a dark horse stalking this race: thermoelectrics.While this would be a cool addition to video games, I doubt this will be any more successful than products like the headshot helmet or the force-feedback vest.
...The temperature difference isn't large - less than 10 degrees heating or cooling after five seconds, but the researchers involved discovered that, as with haptics, just a little sensory nudge can be enough to convince involved participants in a virtual environment that they are experiencing something like the real thing.
New game controller can let you feel hot and cold
Posted on Saturday, July 31 2010 @ 13:00 CEST by Thomas De MaesschalckTechnologyReview reports researchers are toying with a new type of game controller that uses thermoelectrics to add the sensation of hot and cold.
