While responses to Ready Player One were mixed, it had some cool tech we’d all like to have our hands on. The haptic suits that let you physically feel things from the virtual world seemed strangely plausible, yet far-fetched. In real life, Woojer Ryg is in the early stages of production via Kickstarter.
The Woojer Ryg is a haptic vest made specifically for gaming and VR. There have been some attempts at making the VR world feel more tangible by way of gloves, headsets, or treadmills like Vue or Omni, but it’s never quite “right”. The Ryg vest has 8 location-specific haptic zones, each being an individual sound channel. You can imagine how directional, sensitive, and dynamic sensations produced by eight Osci™ patented transducers might be more effective over the rumble pack in your controller.
The Sound You Can Feel
Connecting via Bluetooth with a 10 meter range, stereo audio can match 7.1 surround sound. If you’re wanting to utilize those 8 distinct sound channels though, you’ll need to be wired up via USB. Even those without amazing sound quality will get an improved experience since it’s hijacking your sense of touch to make sound more realistic.
It weighs 5.4 pounds, and should fit anyone comfortably. You’ll get 8 hours of playtime, and the ability to triple that number if you have additional battery packs! Please take time to eat and go to the bathroom though. This does sound very promising not only for games and VR, but for music, movies, and more. If you’d like to learn more about their patented transducers and how things work, read the next sentence and follow the link!
This setup will cost you $549+ if you hop on the Kickstarter right this instant. However, waiting for retail will set you back $799. If you’re a developer who’s looking to tinker, and have $1,999+ to shell out, you can get the SDK and access to the community forums. While this does seem like a “familiar” idea, it’s much more specific, and looks like it might be a big step towards true VR.
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