Turn your couch into a race car with Immersit

[Wireless News]

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/C5QZRkRKanw3LaB4aJN.qQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztmaT1maWxsO2g9ODY7cT03NTt3PT EzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/digital_trends_973/5261fb10050a200c133485d81bc49934 (http://news.yahoo.com/turn-couch-race-car-immersit-210514950.html)There’s plenty of reason to believe that virtual reality will finally make its mark on mainstream audiences in 2016 — but a functional headset is only the first step to a truly immersive experience. To ensure that users really feel like they’re a part of the game they’re playing or the movie they’re watching, a new device casts its attention towards-your seat. Immersit offers a novel method of augmenting the virtual experience. By adding small feet to the bottom of your chair or couch, the device can physically move your entire seated body to better reflect the action playing out on screen. In a demo shown at CES, the company used a chair and a VR race track demo to show of its technology. The chair bucked and tilted to simulate the track and the effects of G-forces as the car speed around the raceway. While this sort of experience seems geared towards virtual reality headset compatibility, it’ll also function perfectly well with a typical monitor or TV. The rumbles, shakes and other motions your couch will be making might not convince you that you’re a part of the action, but it’ll still offer excitement similar to that of a 4D amusement park attraction. Immersit is-stressing is its ease of use. It’s being described by its creators as plug-and-play, and while outfitting your couch might take a bit of set-up, it’s expected that the process of using the device will be very easy from that point on. Immersit also has a major advantage in the fact that content creators don’t have to tailor their movies or video games towards compatibility with the device. The tech behind the project boasts a “Shazam-like” feature that can read content and decide which motions are appropriate on-the-fly. There’s reason to be intrigued by Immersit, but it’s difficult to determine just how much success the device will find without having seen how well it integrates with a range of movies and games. Depending on the execution, it could either be a meaningful way of drawing the player into the experience, or a thin gimmick. Related: HTC unveils its second Vive VR headset, and it has a camera on it Pricing would also seem to be a potential issue. It’s going to be difficult enough to convince the average consumer that a virtual reality headset is worthy of a premium pricetag, so optional extras such as Immersit are going to have to offer-a great deal of added value to secure a paying audience. The company says that it plans a crowdfunding launch within the month, so that’ll tell us more about the price and availability. More information on the Immersit can be found at the device’s official web site.



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