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Enhancing public entertainment with touch: Possibilities and pitfalls
1Crossmodal Research Laboratory, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
I-Perception
|October 21, 2024
Summary
Early attempts to add tactile and bodily stimulation to entertainment, like touch-enhanced cinema, faced challenges. These hurdles explain why "the feelies" never became mainstream, unlike "the talkies".
Area of Science:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Media Studies
- Sensory Experience Design
Background:
- Historical interest exists in augmenting entertainment with tactile and bodily (vestibular) stimulation.
- Early cinema and virtual reality travel experiences explored immersive sensory augmentation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically review the early history of haptics and bodily stimulation in entertainment.
- To identify challenges limiting the widespread adoption of sensory-enhanced entertainment.
Main Methods:
- Narrative historical review of early attempts at sensory augmentation in public entertainment.
- Analysis of technological, financial, cognitive, creative, ethical, and legal barriers.
Main Results:
- Numerous patents for digital tactile stimulation present legal challenges.
- Despite early interest (e.g., Aldous Huxley's "the feelies"), touch-enhanced cinema did not achieve mainstream success like "the talkies".
Conclusions:
- Technological, financial, and creative challenges have historically hindered the integration of tactile/bodily stimulation in mainstream entertainment.
- Identifying past successful use cases can guide future tactile augmentation of home entertainment systems.
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