Imagine not just putting on a mask and seeing other worlds, but actually smelling them.
That’s the idea behind company Feelreal’s mask. With the tagline “feel the world,” the mask is a prototype that is designed for users to “fully immerse and experience the smells and senses present in virtual reality games and movies,” according to the website. “Playing in our mask you can feel the wind, heat, water mist, vibration and smells that surrounds you in virtual world.”
So not only will you be able to feel things, but you’ll be able to smell them — even get drops of water and feel heat on your face — by syncing the mask to the Feelreal Player and setting the effects you want to supplement your game or movie.
The headset uses Bluetooth and features windflow, vibration, a microphone and, of course, the odor generator. What smells can you sample? Ocean, jungle, fire, grass, powder, flowers and metal.
The Verge got a test-run and let’s just say they were none-too-pleased, calling them “implements of torture.”
“I’ve become strangely sensitive to the smell of plastics, which I’ve unconsciously linked to the nausea I felt with early Rift games,” they wrote in their review. “The moment I put on the Feelreal, I realized it was going to be even worse. Imagine putting an air freshener in a new car on a hot day. Then imagine burying your face in one of the car’s plastic seats.”
Getting beyond the nausea, claustrophobia and other issues these headsets are grappling with, here’s my main problem. You want to smell nature? Go outside.
