“A new vest from TN Games aims to bring more realism to the video-game experience by simulating impacts. In a first-person shooter, for example, the gaming vest, called 3rd Space, mimics the force of enemy fire. The vest’s air compressor controls eight embedded pneumatic cells that produce impacts of various strengths and in various locations on the player’s torso, in response to events that occur in a video game.

The 3rd Space vest is a scaled-down version of a medical device that CEO Mark Ombrellaro is developing. A vascular surgeon by training, Ombrellaro was working on a pilot project for Texas Tech University, experimenting with using telehealth to deliver health care to prisoners…

Force feedback devices are already popular among gamers, and Ombrellaro says that his vest promises an even more realistic experience than today’s vibrating controllers. “The drama moment with this is getting shot in the back in a first-person game,” he says … Based on feedback from its tests, the company chose a standard strength of impact, which is palpable but not bruising. “We’re pushing the edge,” he says. “We’re still keeping it very fun but, at the same time, giving you tactile cues that are important. There’s even subtly a message–that there are consequences to shooting people.“” From Making Games Physical by Erica Naone, Technology Review.