Tag Archives: immersive

Cooler Master Orb X Immersive PC Gaming Pod Looks Straight out of TRON

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Designed and built by computer hardware manufacturer Cooler Master, the Orb X is an immersive gaming pod designed with luxury and comfort in mind. It kind of reminds me of Darth Vader’s meditation chamber, but with less wondering what the heck he does in there for hours at a time.

The Orb X can accommodate up to three 27″ monitors for maximum peripheral viewing and includes built-in power, audio, and lighting systems, as well as a traditional desk surface. It features a premium leather “ergonomic recliner” with fully adjustable head and lumbar support. But does it have seat cooling capabilities? Because I get sweaty when I’m gaming.

The pod’s dome lowers over the user’s head once they’re in place, so you know that they mean business. If the dome is down, do not disturb — that’s going to be my motto. And the dome is never not going to be down, just to be clear. I’m going to live in this thing; all it needs now is a mini-fridge and microwave.

[via Gizmodo]

Virtual Reality Boots Promise an Even More Immersive Experience

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What good is virtual reality if it can still be distinguished from actual reality? So companies are hard at work trying to make the VR experience as immersive as possible. And one of those companies is Ekto One, which is developing a pair of VR boots that allow a user to actually walk without moving forward. Soon we won’t even have to go outside to experience life!

The boots work via a motion tracking system that keeps tabs on the boots’ movement and location and wheels that return the user to their starting position after each step. The Ekto Ones allow a user the sensation of walking in virtual reality without the need of a bulky and difficult-to-move omnidirectional treadmill so that you could bring virtual reality with you virtually anywhere.

Of course, the boots come with their own drawbacks, including taking five minutes to put on and being awkward and weighty enough that early testers have described 20 minutes of use as a workout itself. Granted, I already consider twenty minutes of regular walking a workout, so I’m really not sure what their point is there.

[via dornob]

Giant Scorpion Inspired Reclining PC Immersion Rig

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Scorpions: they can be deadly. And this chair looks like it could be too. Introducing the IW-SK ‘Cool Scorpion’ reclining computer workstation from Cluvens Cockpits. It’s a PC rig that looks like a giant steel scorpion and reclines so you can relax at maximum levels while becoming fully immersed in your computing experience. Or losing at Call of Duty and rage-quitting like I will be.

The IW-SK costs $3,699 and includes free shipping in the continental United States. It takes an hour or two to assemble, weighs 352-pounds, and features a push-button control to lower up to three monitors (not included) in front of you. It also includes electronic control of its recline function to 128-degrees (aka “zero gravity”), all the way down to 170-degrees. Most importantly, it features cup holders in its armrests.

As much as I do want one (and I want one badly), I’m not sure I’d even be able to fit an IW-SK in my office without tearing down a wall. Then tearing down another wall. Then another and another until I’m just outside praying there isn’t a thunderstorm coming.

[via The Green Head]

This Movie Theater Seat has its own built-in surround-sound system for a truly immersive experience

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The FLEXSOUND Pulse generates its own immersive ‘bubble’ of full-range audio around the person sitting in it. Its makers designed it to be the cinema seat of the future, but they see it being used in gaming, live performances, and even at home.

The terms ‘immersive’ and ‘loud’ aren’t necessarily interchangeable… that’s a distinction that the FLEXSOUND Pulse focuses on. It replaces the need for those loud 5.1 surround sound systems by putting the speakers right into their futuristic movie-theater seats, so you don’t just listen to the audio, you FEEL it too.

Flexsound Pulse - The first fully loudspeaker-free cinema sound system

The FLEXSOUND Pulse is an almost cabin-esque seat that envelops you in your personal “soundsphere.” The Pulse comes with carefully-positioned full-range audio systems built right into the seat, giving you an experience that blurs the lines between auditory and tactile. Just how your heart thumps to music at a concert, the chair’s audio systems immerse your ears and body in sound and vibrations without necessarily being loud. Moreover, the chair’s felt-lined walls along the side help contain the sound within the space inside the seat, resulting in minimal sound leakage. This means your audio experience exists within the confines of your chair, so your family and neighbors don’t get disturbed while you’re watching a Michael Bay film or an exceptionally rowdy football match. Sadly though, it also means you can’t really talk to people beside you or efficiently pass the popcorn around (although that might just be a good thing).

Flexsound Pulse - The first fully loudspeaker-free cinema sound system

The chairs are designed to wirelessly receive sound, and can be arranged in a variety of numbers and orientations for smaller private cinemas as well as larger public movie theaters… and just in case you’re wondering, yes, they could potentially be used at home too, along with your TV or your gaming rig. Or better still, just pop on a VR headset and enter perhaps the most immersive movie-watching experience known to humankind.

Designer: FLEXSOUND

Flexsound Pulse - The first fully loudspeaker-free cinema sound system

Flexsound Pulse - The first fully loudspeaker-free cinema sound system

Sony’s absurd electric-shaver-shaped wireless speaker can fill your entire room with rich sound

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When you think of smart speakers, Sony is a brand that’s name really doesn’t come to mind. The company never really invested its efforts in the smart-speaker game, or even in developing its own Voice AI the way Samsung and other Asian tech companies did. As fashionably late as Sony may be to the party, at least it knows how to make a grand entrance. The company just unveiled its series of premium wireless speakers, the SRS-RA3000 and the SRS-RA5000… and while those names aren’t really catchy, you could just call the SRS-RA5000 the shaver speaker, because well, just look at it.

The speaker’s design is a function of its audio driver layout. It features a 70mm subwoofer in its base, and six full-range 46mm drivers laid out around the sides and the top (quite similar to Amazon’s Echo Studio and the now obsolete Apple HomePod). Together, these drivers push out sound upward and outward, creating what Sony describes as “ambient room-filling sound”. Sony’s even outfitted the speaker with two microphones, but they aren’t for your voice. Rather, the microphones help the speaker automatically calibrate its sound based on where you place it in the room, allowing for it to adjust how the speaker throws sound when placed in a corner of the space versus the center. Although, if you do want your smart speaker to respond to voice commands, the SRS-RA5000 is compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

Sony’s speaker works over Bluetooth and WiFi, and is even compatible with Spotify Connect and Chromecast Audio. The speakers are optimized for Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format, which can ‘upscale’ regular tracks to make them sound more rich and immersive, although this feature currently works only with selected platforms like Tidal, Deezer, and Amazon Music HD. For other streaming services and offline music sources, Sony’s thrown in its DSEE technology which greatly improves the sound of compressed audio or lossy MP3s. Oh yes, I did say offline music, because the speaker even sports its own 3.5mm jack that lets you hook it up to analog audio sources like your iPod, a turntable, or even your TV! The Sony SRS-RA5000 is available for pre-order and is expected to ship as early as the first week of April… although it’s difficult to see past that electric-shaver-inspired design, and its $700 price tag!

Designer: Sony

The WOWCube Is a Rubik’s Cube-like Gaming System with 24 Screens

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What do you get when you combine a Rubik’s Cube with mobile gaming capabilities? The WOWCube Entertainment System, a $250 gaming platform with 8 processors powering 24 individual screens that allows players to twist, tap, shake, and tilt the unit to play games and solve puzzles. Well, consider it added to my birthday list.

The WOWCube’s developers bill the system as “the first-in-class immersive-reality innovative console and gaming platform providing a unique experience of interacting with the digital world as if it’s a real object.” So basically the lovechild of a Rubik’s Cube and Bop-It that can play smartphone games.

In addition to 3-dimensional gaming, when placed on its charger the WOWCube also doubles as a widget display, connecting to your smartphone or smart home and being able to display their information, including social media posts, weather, photos, and more. But can it slice and dice and make Julienne fries?!

I’ll be honest: I’m not the world’s greatest puzzle solver. And if I can’t peel off the screens like the colored stickers on a Rubik’s and replace them on the correct sides, I don’t think I’ll be able to solve any of those puzzle games. At least not without my patent-pending Cube Puzzle Solver. Which, yes, is the 2-pound steel hammer I borrowed from a neighbor and never returned.

[via DudeIWantThat]

Dolby and Avid make it easier for indie artists to use immersive Atmos tech

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Music tracks encoded with Dolby’s immersive Atmos Music tech recently started appearing on Tidal and other streaming services, but most are from artists backed by major labels. Now, Dolby and Pro Tools developer Avid are making it easier for independ...

This immersive gaming machine uses projection tech to bring the game to life in your room!

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If you are looking to escape this planet while still being safe at home, this conceptual gaming machine called PSR is just what you need! PSR is a spatial experience gaming set up and if it comes to life it will truly be out of this world – imagine having a fully immersive game without having to wear any of that bulky VR gear. If your Sim seems to be having a better 2020 than you, just join in.

Since the current gaming setups limit the experience to TVs and VR headsets, the designer wanted to create something that allows the users to transform their room into the game itself. PSR uses a built-in triple projector that created a panoramic dimensional view mapped on the wall to take the user inside the game’s environment. Your room becomes your screen BOOM, your game just leveled up! It features a super bright 4K HDR projector lens for a synced panoramic view which optimizes the triple projector technology. You can also use it to play on your TV or switch to the classic mode that only projects the scene on one wall. This concept lets the players expand their field of vision and games can be more realistic by adding more actions like jumping, ducking, complex hand gestures, etc. to get them more involved.

Inspired by PlayStation’s minimal look, the PSR was designed to keep and enhance the geo silhouettes using simple circular shape and a stripe line. The disc-like projector unit can be rotated freely and depending on the angle it will form interesting geometric silhouettes – circle, rectangular, and cross. The console has a refined and modern aesthetic complimented by the Dualshock Duo controllers. The pressure-sensitive analog stick adds to the tactile input feeling that makes it different from its predecessors. It features magnetic pads that connect it so it can be charged together using the USB-C speed charge or the Chargestation Pro Dock if you have another set of controllers. The linear ergonomic design makes it look like a blend between a joystick and a traditional controller.

An immersive gaming console like PSR opens up endless creative possibilities for game developers, I mean you can go for space missions, live in your Sim’s house, integrate complex learning games that could teach you to code or cook, complete your daily cardio goal by running in Fornite and race cars you can only dream of in Forza – and for those few minutes, it becomes a real and valuable experience. It also looks better than any PlayStation or Xbox console, there I said it and I am ending that debate.

Designer: Andy Suh

This article was sent to us using the ‘Submit A Design’ feature.

We encourage designers/students/studios to send in their projects to be featured on Yanko Design!

The band X Ambassadors created a music video for the visually impaired

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For people who are blind or visually impaired, listening to a music video is often just like listening to the track. The band X Ambassadors wants to change that. They've teamed up with Microsoft to create an "audio-only music video" that's meant to a...

‘Away Mission’ is a free-roaming ‘Star Trek’ VR experience

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When Starfleet calls, Trekkies will answer, and Starfleet's latest call to action involves the world's first free-roam Star Trek experience. Later this year Sandbox VR will launch the first Holodeck VR experience, where fans can enter the world of St...