EquipmentTactaCages

These platforms are used to investigate the impact of multi-sensory feedback in terms of perceptual and cognitive responses of the human participant in virtual space. The TactaCage is a multi-sensory, immersive, virtual reality (VR) system for single-user and multi-user. The platform is built using a raised floor for providing vibration feedback along with other multi-sensory cues (vision, sound, touch, smell, taste). The participant is positioned in the middle of the cage wearing an HMD and holding a controller. The multi-sensory stimuli our system can produce is visual, audio, smell, and two types of tactile feedback (floor vibration and wind). The Human Interface Technology Laboratory (HIT Lab NZ) has two systems situated adjacent to each other for multi-player or multi-user experiments and the support of multi-sensory, multi-person collaboration at a distance.

• Multi-sensory immersive experience (including wind, vibration, smell)
• Multi-player, multi-person collaboration/experiments
• Brushless DC fans, ButtKicker LFE and Smelevator © aroma diffusers provide wind, vibration and scent feedback
• Custom-built floor-vibration platform composed of multiple layers of interleaved MDF supported by industrial rubber vibration isolators
• Round platform measures approx 2.4m in diameter and has provision for up to nine audio transducers to generate vibration
• Current set-up uses four transducers (ButtKicker® Advanced 2) in conjunction with a single channel 1000w amplifier (Dayton stereo sub woofer amp)
• Transducers driven by analog audio signal from PC
• Wind feedback system on programmable gimbals
• Wind feedback offers 360 direction and variable speeds
• Smell feedback offers 4 channels, non-invasive with heated essential oil fume
• HTC Vive devices and tracking
• Motive motion capture cameras mounted. (No software installed)
• No dedicated API, multiple subsystems

• Chris Buyarski
• Ryan McKee
• Robert Lindeman

• Human Interface Technology Lab

• John Britten

• Available for internal use only