Remote-Controlled Humans Enhance Immersive Games
From: New Scientist - 08/10/2005
By: Will Knight

One of the research projects highlighted at the recent 2005 SIGGRAPH
conference was a Japanese initiative to control humans remotely, which NTT
researcher Taero Maeda and colleagues say could be used to enhance the
realism of computer games. The NTT scientists' method involves the remote
stimulation of a person's vestibular system via electrodes, which causes the
person to automatically veer left or right in order to correct a sensation of
imbalance. The technique could be employed in a driving game, for instance,
to make the player feel shifts in gravity as the car negotiates a sharp curve
at high speed. "You could definitely use it to give the illusion of motion
when going through some virtual environment," comments Boston University
galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) expert James Collins. He notes,
however, that the use of GVS as a virtual reality tool has already been
patented by the Virtual Motion company in the United States. Furthermore,
Brian Day with University College London's Institute of Neurology says there
is evidence suggesting that prolonged use of vestibular stimulation at high
current can damage tissues. "I would imagine that regulatory bodies would not
allow GVS to be used in an uncontrolled way," he argues. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7829

Links:
James J. Collins PhD
http://www.bu.edu/dbin/bme/faculty/?prof=jcollins

Virtual Motion
http://www2.virtual-motion.com:8087/index.html

Brian Day
http://www.sobell.ion.ucl.ac.uk/Day/dayhome.htm

More than aiding balance, vestibular organs provide an on-line movement guidance system
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-08/cp-mta080305.php
