Disney Tests Out Aireal Air-Flow Tactile Gaming Technology

When Nintendo first announced that the Nintendo Wii would feature motion control, Sony and Microsoft camps laughed at Nintendo, touting that this is just a gimmick that will die off pretty soon. I guess Nintendo did have the last laugh after all, where they pioneered the way ahead for home consoles to rely on some sort of motion control in the controllers themselves, with Microsoft went one up by introducing the Kinect system which will use your entire physical body as the game controller itself. Well, Disney intends to up the ante where gaming is concerned, by working on an experimental air-flow technology.

If you have sat in one of those 4D theme park rides, you would know that sometimes, the on-screen adventure sees you fall downwards into a dark abyss – with wind blowing against your face to make things more realistic. This is what Disney is working on, calling the project Aireal, which would enable users to feel physical feedback from virtual images, all sans gloves, belts or vests. It remains to be seen whether such “additions”, so to speak, would appeal to most of the gaming majority.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gaming
Tags: Disney, tactile