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Tesla Suit: the next step in virtual reality

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The Tesla Suit sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi novel or series and that’s exactly what it’s supposed to be. The Tesla Suite aims to make virtual reality, well, reality with a new concept that would allow VR users to experience every possible feeling through the suit without  compromising. Naturally, this project is a bit far ahead in the future, but the concept is there and Tesla Studios wants to make it. Btw, Tesla Studios has nothing to do with Elon Musk, surprisingly.

The idea behind the Tesla Suit is to be able to experience virtual reality in the most immersive manner possible, and that means that you have to not only see virtual reality through a headset, but feel it in its entirety. Tesla Studios is behind the project and technically, the Tesla Suit is not a suit, but it kind of works like one. Like Barney Stinson in How I met your Mother once said: Suit Up! (for virtual reality).

The main application for the Tesla Suit right now would be gaming, as people are getting more and more interested in virtual reality gaming since the Oculus Rift was first demonstrated. The Tesla Suit is more of an array of haptic feedback sensors which will work much like it does on the Apple Watch. Only with this VR gear, the haptic feedback won’t happen as just a tap on your wrist but as a full-blown virtual reality experience.

The “suit” is made up of a T-Belt which is the center of everything and acts as the control unit. You simply connect it wirelessly to a console, VR headset or device of your choice and let it do its magic on you. The belt is outfitted with a smorgasbord of sensors, including a temperature sensor, motion detector, gyro and such.

The interesting part of the T-Belt is that it’s machine washable and it can perform tasks outside of the virtual world of gaming. For example, the company behind the Tesla Suit says that you could actually program the belt to do health-related corrections to your posture or have it do a massage on you which it can thanks to the haptic feedback engine.

Besides the T-Belt, the Tesla Suit also comes with a T-Glove of its own that acts as the main unit which will provide you with tactile experience in the virtual reality world. The T-Glove acts as intermediary between you and the virtual world and you actually experience the environment with the help of it. You should be able to touch objects or persons in the virtual realm that you’re in and feel them through the sensors.

Of course that’s not all there is to the Tesla Suit. It actually has various pieces that will be strapped to various parts of your body and will provide the haptic feedback that will make you believe you’re actually roaming the Wastelands of Fallout 3. You should be able to feel hits, wind, falls, touches, animals, buildings, plants and everything else that you might bump into or put your hand on.

The Tesla Suit is one hell of an idea and the makers think that they can actually make it possible, although they don’t know when or how much a consumer version would cost once released. They want to outfit the entire thing with hundreds of motion sensors so that the haptic feedback can be as accurate as possible, life-like as it were.

The haptic feedback system that should be embedded in the suit would be comprised of thousands of small feedback points that can deliver both vibrations and temperatures, so that you can feel if you fall into a pool filled with cold water while jumping off hotels in GTA (using cheats of course).

The T-Belt, T-Glove and the rest of the Tesla Suit communicate between each other through Bluetooth LE, so everything is done wirelessly. The belt itself contains an ARM Cortex micro-controller, but that’s just for the prototype. The real Tesla Suit should be ready this year, according to the company, but there is a bit of a controversy as to how this will be marketed.

Tesla Studios say that each small component of the Tesla Suit, such as the T-Glove, T-Belt, the armbands, legbands and the rest of the suit would be sold separately. There’s no price on the gear yet, but we suspect this will be a costly acquisition for anyone. The good thing is that if they pull it off, the Tesla Suit will revolutionize the way in which we engage in gaming and might push the industry towards a more luxurious aspect.

If you’re curious about a virtual reality suit – the Tesla Suit – then don’t forget to check out the video above which demoes how it works and check out the official website which goes into detail about the technology the company used and the people behind the project. We’re also getting a feeling that this might end up being crowd-funded soon enough. Still, you should be able to pre-order it soon enough.

 

As part of the editorial team here at Geekreply, John spends a lot of his time making sure each article is up to snuff. That said, he also occasionally pens articles on the latest in Geek culture. From Gaming to Science, expect the latest news fast from John and team.

Mobile Devices

3 Video Games About Women’s Health

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Video games have transcended entertainment to become powerful tools for promoting health and wellness. One notable genre in this realm is fitness gaming, exemplified by titles like Hatsune Miku Fit Boxing, which motivates players to engage in physical activity to enhance their fitness levels. Building on this foundation, developers have ventured into women’s health with games designed to raise awareness and empower players to take control of their well-being. Here are 3 video games on women’s health that provide valuable health information and foster a sense of agency to uplift women around the world.

Tampon Run – Menstrual health

Created by Girls Who Code alumnae Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser in 2014, Tampon Run is an old-school 8-bit online game where the main character, Luna, lobs tampons to destroy enemies, who will confiscate the tampons if she lets them pass by. Interestingly, the concept of weaponized tampons is based on a real incident that occurred in 2013, where Texas state troopers confiscated tampons as potential projectiles, but not guns, from visitors observing a vote on abortion restrictions at the Texas State Capitol. The goal of Tampon Run is to destigmatize periods and menstrual products, which, up until recently, have not been properly studied to measure their absorbency, which underscores the need to address menstrual health so that women can get better care.

In between tossing tampons, Luna shares empowering messages about how periods are a natural part of women’s lives and should not be a source of shame or embarrassment. The game is available to play on the Tampon Run website and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store for iOS users.

PCOS Vitality – PCOS

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a complex hormonal condition and the leading cause of female infertility that affects approximately 5 to 6 million women in the US, according to the Endocrine Society. Common features of the condition include having irregular menstrual periods, hyperandrogenism, and polycystic ovaries. Additionally, some studies estimate that up to 88% of women with PCOS are overweight or obese. While there are weight loss programs helping women tackle PCOS, focusing on aspects like lifestyle, symptom management, diet, and other tips for how to lose weight with PCOS, the condition itself remains grossly under-researched. For some women, it may take years to confirm that they have PCOS, as there are other disorders that mimic PCOS signs and symptoms that must be excluded.

The lack of research has extended to a lack of awareness among the general population and is what clinicians from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland are trying to address with the 2023 game PCOS Vitality. Essentially a learning tool, the game takes users through a simple obstacle course. As you click toward the finish line, you are asked simple trivia questions about PCOS. The game is free to play on Focus Games’ website.

Bound by Blood – Period poverty

Period poverty refers to the lack of regular access to period products, painkillers, or underwear during a menstrual cycle. In the US, where 16.9 million menstruating women live in poverty, two-thirds cannot afford basic menstrual products. Period poverty has also been associated with mental health issues and urinary tract infections.

Available to play on the itch.io website, Bound by Blood was created by Jessica Gates in 2017 and aims to educate players about the reality of period poverty. Users take the character of Beth, a homeless woman who wakes up in her car and realizes that she’s started her period. Players then make a series of choices to try to stay as hygienic as possible in spite of lacking resources such as menstrual products and clean restrooms. There isn’t really a way to “win” the game, and it is instead a peek into the reality of life where period products are inaccessible and how this affects women’s quality of life.

Through these games, players not only gain valuable insights into various aspects of women’s health but also find themselves actively engaged in their own well-being. As developers continue to explore this emerging field, the potential for video games to serve as educational tools and catalysts for change in healthcare remains promising

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Consoles

Despite popular belief, PS4 sales in the UK skyrocketed last year

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PS4 sales in the UK climbed by a shocking 633 percent year-over-year in 2023, so apparently the old system isn’t dead yet. The previous year’s very limited supply of the system is likely a major factor in this figure, since the console’s lifespan was drastically reduced because of chip shortages caused by the pandemic. Still, it’s proof that PlayStation’s original platform has unmet demand.

With the very low prices of PS4 software (both in-store and online at the PS Store), this strategy makes a lot of sense. Plus, it’s future-proof, so there’s no harm in stocking up on PS4s while new-gen pricing is still high, since if you decide to switch to a PS5 in the future, you can transfer all of your purchases across. Not to mention that the majority of new releases still come out on the PS4, with several offering free PS5 upgrades.

While the percentage rise may seem huge, real PS4 sales will probably be much lower. It’s a sign that the gadget, which is now a decade old, isn’t completely dead yet, and we expect it to keep receiving maintenance for a while longer. Of course, this is great news for Sony, because the company would rather have PS4 players playing on its last-gen gadget than none at all, even if it would love to have them upgrade to PS5.

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Consoles

New PS5 firmware is available for download!

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A PS5 firmware update on a cold winter morning is unmatched. The latest PS5 system software update is 23.02–08.40.00 from Sony. Does this one add useful features or just boost system performance?

Though closer to the latter, it’s more than Sony’s favorite patch note. It fixes security issues, improves messages and usability, and boosts system software performance. Official patch notes for this 1.185GB update:

  • We updated system software security
  • We improved system software stability and performance
  • Some screens now have better messages and usability

That’s it. PS5 gets another win to recover from its midweek slump. Do you share our enthusiasm for this firmware update? Comment below. To spice things up, make your comment rhyme.

 

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