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AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

 Create a sensation of falling by messing with the inner ear.
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Those of you have been lucky enough to see a good IMAX movie know that you can get the sensation of flight from seeing it displayed realisticly enough. Your mind essentially ignores what your inner ear is telling you because it "knows" that it's wrong. This doesn't happen for a less realisticly protrayed display, such as the ones found in a computer game. Thus, IMAX in a sense has tactile feedback, while games do not. (IMAX "flight" is so much better than force-feedback that I choose to ignore it. The computer moving my joystick around for me is NOT what I consider tactile feedback.) What I propose is a system based on either infrasound or low voltage electrodes that stimulates the inner ear to give a sensation of acceleration. Such a system, in conjuntion with a high quality flight simulation, would be really fun. It wouldn't have to be based on reality either, although that's certainly a possibility. You could have a "game" consisting of that dream some people have where you can fly like Superman.
—Madcat, Apr 02 2003

Vertigo FAQ http://vertigo.upmc.com/Faqs.htm
Curiously, this has quelled any desire whatsoever to 'mess' with my inner ear. [idyll, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Cobra Technologies Servovalve and Electronic Controller http://www.flightge...Chair/raychair.html
[phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Rock'n'Ride Personal Motion Simulator http://shop.rightth...th=8&products_id=17
Commercial version of above. [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Dec 06 2004]

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       Induced Vertigo? (A visualisation of Supermen and Superwomen falling all over themselves, emblazoned with vomit-encrusted 'S' insignias.)
—idyll, Apr 02 2003
   

       I remember seeing something related to this in a television programme once. Instead of producing vertigo, the aim was to produce a feeing of tilt in the wearer.   

       The user was blindfolded and stood barefoot on a gel mat (to stifle balance feedback from the feet). Electromagnets in a headband affected the inner ear and made people feel a tilt in one direction and caused them to lean in the opposite direction to counter it. The bad news was that the effect was unreliable and caused tilts in opposite directions in different people. Disappointingly, I can't find anything on google about this.
—st3f, Apr 02 2003
   

       Could you produce vertigo without nausea?
—Don Quixote, Apr 02 2003
   

       Alfred Hitchcock did. I didn't feel nauseous *once* during that movie :-)
—sambwiches, Apr 02 2003
   

       sambwiches: I was going to get all pedantic on you, but an IMBD search showed that not only did Hitchcock direct Vertigo, but he was also one of the three producers. Damn.
—st3f, Apr 02 2003
   

       Ahem, please do not question my knowledge of Hollywood, kind sir *nudges reading spectacles further up nose* B-)
—sambwiches, Apr 02 2003
   

       //Ahem, please do not question my knowledge of Hollywood, kind sir *nudges reading spectacles further up nose* B-)//   

       ...pressing them into the bridge of the nose with one's middle finger...
—FloridaManatee, Apr 02 2003
   

       A great movie, Vertigo is also the origin of that famous "dolly out, zoom in" effect that has been seen in about 1,000 movies and TV shows since.
—krelnik, Apr 02 2003
   

       Will
"infrasound or low voltage electrodes that stimulates the inner ear to give a sensation of acceleration"
work?
Would it be cheaper than doing it the old fashioned way?
—phoenix, Apr 02 2003
   

       retro zoom, [krelnik].
—bristolz, Apr 02 2003
   

       I don't think I want something that might possibly malfunction messing with my complex inner workings - especially over a game. What's more, I fear my psychology may be affected - in a bad way. I'm afeared.
—XSarenkaX, Apr 02 2003
   

       // ... stimulates the inner ear to give a sensation of acceleration. //   

       I can't imagine this is possible.
—waugsqueke, Apr 02 2003
   

       phoenix, pray tell, what is the old-fashioned way? Flinging one's elf about in all directions? I think I like the moving chair concept better, but I'm still a little concerned what will happen if you crash your sim-plane. Does the chair become a twisted mass of tangled metal? Or is it a tangled mass of twisted metal?   

       XSarenkaX, I am afeared as well, but my psychology was already affected just by coming here!
—Canuck, Apr 02 2003
   

       I'd always thought that technique was developed for Jaws, [krel]. It seems my movie knowledge *can* be questioned - *removes 'spectacles of Hollywood knowledge', clings more tightly to 'contact lenses of pointless trivia'* :-)
—sambwiches, Apr 02 2003
   

       I suppose electromagnets could affect the inner ear by inducing a current there. I am not sure how directional such a thing would be - I would worry about inducing a current in the brain.
—bungston, Apr 02 2003
   

       [canuck] i'm afriad i don't understand. how does flinging an elf around achive anything?   

       in general, i'm wary of systems that screw with my inner anything, ear or brain or what have you... i would want a lot of guarantees that there would be no way for the gadget to accidentally render me deaf or something...
—urbanmatador, Apr 02 2003
   

       I want someone to do the exact opposite of what this idea is proposing, so my sister would ride roller coasters with me. It's the one thing we've never done together.
—Pericles, Apr 02 2003
   

       This is baked in reverse. Some people have problems with the I-E that result in erroneous signals being sent to the brain, totally bollixing their sense of balance. Implants are available that fix this condition. What I'm proposing is to induce the problem for a little while, an a very precise manner. It shouldn't be THAT dangerous. Muhuhahahahha.
—Madcat, Apr 03 2003
   

       Screwing around with the inner ear, should you be so reckless as to do so, won't give you a real "sensation of acceleration." The rest of the body -- muscles and tendons which provide constant sensory feedback to keep you balanced -- will know that you're just sitting still. The result, I imagine, would be a pretty strange and unpleasant discordance, not the realistic thrill you're looking for.
—hob, Apr 03 2003
   

       Ah, but it will Hob. It already does for those who have permanent damage to the I-E. It already does when people are subjected to stimulation of the I-E in labs.   

       I should mention that I'm not proposing implants or anything crazy like that. I belive neurologists often stimulate nerves using equipment similar to MRIs, and the magnetic pulse can be precise enough to target single neurons. It's safe and effective.
—Madcat, Apr 04 2003
   

       //...safe and effective.// ...but unpleasant. I think the average game player's experience will involve very real sensations triggered by the accelleration of, um, lunch.   

       If you use "infrasound" to do this, you'll have to use a pretty big set of headphones. I'm imagining a headset with wonderfully large pipe organ components sprouting from the sides.
—Don Quixote, Apr 04 2003
   

       You might be right, but maybe not. What I really want is the feeling of falling like a rock, a la IMAX movie. That by definition includes no feedback from the muscles because there's nothing for the arms and legs to push against- you are falling. (Like a rock no less!)
—Madcat, Apr 08 2003
   

       Give me a bag of feathers anytime - to land on.
—FarmerJohn, Apr 08 2003
   

       Madcat: "That by definition includes no feedback from the muscles because there's nothing for the arms and legs to push against"... well that's my point exactly; when you're *not* falling, your whole body feels your weight, so when you are falling, it feels entirely different. Same if you're subjected to sudden acceleration, you don't just sense it with your inner ear. People with ear damage have all kinds of crazy sensations but they're not quite the same as what you'd get with real movement. You may be looking at amazing computer graphics and having your ears frazzled with magnets, but if your butt is still planted in a chair there's a limit to the illusion.   

       I might warm to this idea though, if I can get assurance in writing that I will never, ever be asked to experience this illusion.
—hob, Apr 08 2003
   

       So, in reality, it would feel more like the whole room is falling instead of just you.
—galukalock, Apr 09 2003
   

       //so my sister would ride roller coasters with me. It's the one thing we've never done together//   

       [pericles] please tell me its not the ONLY thing you haven't done with your sister.
—etherman, Apr 29 2004
   


 

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