Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/25/boffins_program_peripheral_vision_for_ultra_tv_immersion/
Boffins program peripheral visions for ultra TV immersion
Viewers 'feel' explosions
Posted in Hardware, 25th June 2012 12:05 GMT
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Scientists have improved the immersive experience of watching telly, with projectors which extend our views into peripheral vision territory.
Researchers at MIT's Media Lab [1] have put together software which extends the image viewed on our tellies onto extra screens in a suitably blurry fashion to mimic what we see in our peripheral vision.
The system, called Infinity-By-Nine, is essentially Ambilight [2] on steroids, with viewers perceiving the extra imagery as a natural extension of the primary content.
The team said tests revealed that viewers believed they were drawn further into the on-screen story, and that the system can be used to induce other sensations, such as the feeling of heat following an on-screen explosion.
As it can run on any consumer-ready hardware, with the right projector setup, any Joe Bloggs can make use of it. And TV content is merely the beginning.
Videogaming, UI design and other areas where a user's vision is concentrated on a central area, have been earmarked for peripheral enhancement too. ®