I'm looking for articles or cases covering new formats of media, which
are able to expose several senses (besides what we hear and see).
Today some joysticks vibrate (tactile) aiming to reflect the event in
the computer game; I know there has been some work done on adding
smell devises to the home PC etc.
Please ensure that the suggestions you come up with still are valid,
as a lot of prototypes has failed.

Good luck,

Martin

Hello again, Martin!

The now-defunct DigiScents "iSmell" turned out to be a stinker:

"The digital-age version of Smell-O-Vision got its media start with a
cover story in Wired magazine -- 'You've Got Smell!' the headline
proclaimed -- but even that wasn't enough to make this quirky idea a
reality.

The company's main undelivered product was called, cutely, the iSmell,
which Digiscents said would have been the world's first consumer
'personal scent synthesizer.' You would hook up the iSmell to your
computer 'just like speakers,' a company spokesman said last year, but
instead of synthesizing the sound of an onscreen explosion, the iSmell
would blow out a whiff of smoke-scented air.

There were actual working prototypes of this device, which traveled to
trade shows and newsrooms to prove that, yes, smell technology did
exist. But finding itself short on cash, Digiscents shut its doors
last April [April 2001]."

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,49326,00.html

Here's a fascinating new device:

"Invented by a world-renowned psycho­logist and develop­ed by a team
of experts in ass­ist­ive tech­nology experts, VTPlayer looks
decep­tively like a simple com­puter mouse with some added buttons. In
fact, it can be installed on almost any Windows-capable com­puter,
including lap­tops, with plug-and-play ease. Novices can learn to use
it just as quickly as skilled PC users.

The key to VTPlayer?s capabilities is its embedded tactile dis­play...
This delivers the images, animation and text of support­ed software
appli­cat­ions to the user?s fingertips, along with ac­com­pany­ing
sound effects built into the soft­ware. The display is made up of a
pair of electronically-con­trol­led matrix units built into the
VTPlayer?s surface just where the fingers rest. Each 4x4 matrix holds
16 pin-like micro-pods that rise and fall dyna­m­ically, gently
deli­ver­ing a tactile sense of the screen to the user?s finger­tips."

http://www.virtouch.com/

The Dual Shock game controller and similar products offer "rumble"
vibratory feedback:

"With the Dual Shock Analog Game Controller for the Sony PlayStation
you can feel the action. Dual thumb sticks include rounded design with
rubber grips. The controller also features dual high and low frequency
vibration devices."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00002DHER/

"The layout of PlayStation2's Dual Shock 2 controller is nearly
identical to that of the original PlayStation's Dual Shock controller,
which is good news for most gamers. The main new feature is that, when
the buttons are pushed, the controller can register how much pressure
is being exerted. This adds a completely new dimension to sports,
racing, fighting, and more games. Aside from the Start and Select
buttons, all of the functions are analog for greater control, a wider
variety of operations, and a more compelling interactive experience.
Two convex analog thumb pads and two force-feedback solenoid rumblers
round out the features."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004YRQ9/

The Thrustmaster Force Feedback Racing Wheel vibrates and moves:

"whizzing round the courses of cmr2 you get an enormous sense of
actually being there. the rubber wheel makes it feel tactile, and less
toy-like than some of other wheels i have seen. the force feedback of
the wheel gives your vehicle weight and lets your feel every bump,
impact and crash."

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/computers/game_controllers/thrustmaster_force_feedback_racing_wheel/_review/400085/

The Nostromo N30 Mouse is responsive in unusual ways:

"A gun metal wing, a silver bumper, these ornamental touches do little
to make the Nostromo n30 look like anything more than a classic
rollerball mouse with a stylish black paint job, but that's because
its innovative features lie on the inside, where secret servos and
motors rest, waiting to be brought to life. They can send illusionary
vibrations to whatever fingertips find contact with them, an effect
that can be strange, unsettling, but delightful too... The Nostromo
n30 will return your grasp using Immersion's TouchSense technology, an
arrangement of internal servos and motors that hum and whirr through a
palette of vibrations to match what your eyes are seeing on your
computer screen."

http://www.viewz.com/aol/gameguide/hardware/nostromon30.shtml

All joysticks are designed to be pushed. This one pushes back:

"The SideWinder Force Feedback 2 joystick is the latest and greatest
game controller from Microsoft that now supports force feedback. Force
feedback describes the sensation you experience in your hands as you
as you play certain games. This is transmitted via vibrations sent by
the computer game to the controller as you play."

http://www.gtpcc.org/gtpcc/sidewinder.htm

The Logitech iFeel mouse provides tactile feedback of a gentler sort
than the "rumbler" game controllers:

"The new Logitech iFeel optical mouse combines tactile force feedback
with optical technology to give you an interactive computing
experience.

The Logitech iFeel Mouse enhances your computing experience with
gentle vibrations as you move around the Web and your desktop. Feel
your way around the pull-down menus, dialog boxes, and specific
enhanced programs and games. No more issues with too small print or
information clutter -- now you can feel where your mouse goes!

The iFeel mouse issues gentle impulses when it moves over a Windows
element (toolbar button, menu option, folders) or a browser object
(link or Web button), ensuring you're clicking exactly where you
intended."

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/compuvisor/log93ifopmou.html

Here's an upcoming product that sounds promising:

"AN LCD SCREEN THAT will let you feel and push virtual buttons is
under development by the Sony Corporation, it has emerged. A report on
nikkei.net said that the firm is producing the panel as a breakthrough
next generation device that may be so sophisticated it will be able to
replace keyboards and certainly touch panels.

And the wire reports that the first products may appear in personal
digital assistants (PDAs) by the end of the year.

The technology uses piezo effect vibrations and Sony has cracked the
problem of the high voltages normally required. The piezo effect can
be subtly altered to create a number of different vibratory effects,
allowing humans to get the sensation that their fingers are actually
touching real buttons on a screen."

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=9991

Incidentally, devices and interfaces which use the sense of touch in
providing feedback to the user are called "haptic devices" or "haptic
interfaces." Using these terms in a search engine will take you to
many sites that describe non-commercial applications and research in
tactile feedback.

Another gaming enhancement:

"Feel the Game with TouchWare® Gaming
Being able to completely immerse yourself into the game is now a
reality for PC gamers through TouchWare Gaming, Immersion's new force
feedback gaming utility. You can...

Feel your light saber hum 
Feel your shotgun blast and reload 
Feel your missile lock on a target 
Feel your car driving over cobblestone 
Feel your plane's landing gear engage 
Feel everything you interact with 
Don't just play the game. Feel the game."

http://www.immersion.com/gaming/

A high-end touch interface that's now on the market:

"Developed at MIT, the PHANTOM device's patented and elegant design
provides high-fidelity 3D force-feedback, the ability to operate in an
office/desktop environment, compatibility with standard PCs and a
universal design for a broad range of applications. The PHANTOM haptic
interface is distinguished from other touch interfaces by what it
isn't. It is not a bulky exoskeletal device, a buzzing tactile
stimulator or a vibrating joystick."

http://www.sensable.com/products/phantom_ghost/phantom.asp

Hi martin!

Another interesting take will be the PAN or Personal Area Network.

"Scientists at IBM's Almaden Research Center (San Jose, CA) are
perfecting a new Personal Area Network technology (PAN) that uses the
natural electrical conductivity of the human body to transmit
electronic data."

"Using a small prototype transmitter (roughly the size of a deck of
cards) embedded with a microchip, and a slightly larger receiving
device, the researchers can transmit a preprogrammed electronic
business card between two people via a simple handshake. What's more,
the prototype allows data to be transmitted from sender to receiver
through up to four touching bodies"

Thanks!

Another touch technolgy enhancement.

"Imagine stepping into a game booth outfitted with sensors that enable
you to feel what it's like to walk on the surface of Mars. Or, turning
on your computer to see live video of your new grandchild across the
country and being able, by wearing gloves with special sensors, to
feel you're actually touching the baby."

"For example, researchers at the University of Buffalo in New York
recently developed an experimental glove that can send the sense of
touch over the Internet. While its functions still are limited, its
creators hope it could one day be used to let designers, sculptors, or
doctors in distant locations collaborate."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0724/p14s01-stin.html

Dear Martin, 

Since smell and touch were alreayd mentioned, I'll add the development
of devices meant to track eyes movements - in order to set preferences
of a specific user.

See four research projects on the issue at the "Ecole Thématique
interdisciplinaire organisée par le Bureau National de la Formation du
CNRS":
http://vision6.cnrs-mrs.fr/~gsm/projects.html 

BBC Article on the subject (a bit old, Sept. 2002): 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2098030.stm 

See also: 
Eye Link Info
http://www.eyelinkinfo.com/ 

Tobii Technologies
http://www.tobii.se/ 

SensoMotoric Instruments 
http://www.smi.de/

Hi pinkfreud-ga,
Wow you have really worked hard on this one. Well done. I've left a reward for you.

All the best,

martin

Hi easterangel-ga ,
Thanks for your contribution - I've left a small reward for you.

All the best,

martin

Hi politicalguru-ga ,
Even though you've done a great job the articles unfortunately doesn?t
match what I was looking for. What I was looking for was more stuff on
future media channels able to transmit our senses.

Once again thanks for your work.

All the best,

martin