Movie audiences and gamers may soon get to experience the scents of their favorite films and games sooner than they think.
Via a press release issued on Wednesday, December 19, Feelreal announced the pre-release of its Multi-Sensory VR Mask which includes, among other features, the ability to smell scents while viewing movies or playing games within a virtual reality headset.
Feelreal’s Multi-Sensory VR Mask contains a scent generator that can hold and use up to nine aroma capsules within a replaceable scent cartridge. Multi-Sensory VR Mask users can choose from 255 different scents to add to their VR movie watching, game playing, or aromatherapy experiences. According to Feelreal’s website, among the many scents offered in its aroma collection are lavender, mint, burning rubber, and even gunpowder.
While the mask is designed primarily to be used with a VR headset, such as the Oculus Rift or the Samsung Gear VR headsets, its olfactory function can also be used on its own if users are more interested in its aromatherapy capabilities.
In addition to the Multi-Sensory VR Mask’s odor feature, Feelreal also included haptics that simulate other sensory experiences such as the feeling of heat, wind, water, and impact (vibration). Heat and wind are simulated by the use of micro-heaters and coolers. The feeling of water and impact are generated by an ultrasonic ionizing (misting) system and force-feedback haptic motors, respectively.
The mask itself is designed to be attached to a VR headset using magnetic mounts and should be able to connect to a headset via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. In addition to the Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift headsets, Feelreal’s mask can also be used with Oculus Go, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR.
Movies (360 degrees or other supported videos) can be watched within the mask via its Feelreal player. Users can also view free VR experiences called Feelreal Dreams, which are supposed to feature the use of the mask’s sensory capabilities. Gamers can expect the mask to be able to support games such as Beat Saber, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR, and Death Horizon.
It is unknown when Feelreal’s Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund its VR mask and other products will launch, but interested prospective customers can go ahead and sign up on the Feelreal website with an email address to receive updates on the campaign and an “early bird discount.”
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.