This Oculus Quest 2 add-on can suffocate you... for science
We shouldn't be surprised that Oculus Quest 2 has seen some weird accessories. Developers have often sought ways to enhance VR's immersive experience, and thanks to a group of Austrian researchers, there's now one that'll literally take your breath away.
Designed by a research team at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, they recently demonstrated a unique Oculus Quest 2 (recently renamed Meta Quest 2) accessory called the AirRes Mask.
Spotted by VRScout, this unusual-looking peripheral aims to utilize a user's breathing as an input method, providing «increased levels of interactivity and multi-sensory stimulation.»
Releasing a video demonstration, which you can view below, the research team showcased some novel examples. Between blowing into a harmonica and steadying your breathing while aiming a gun, this device also offers «breathing resistance to communicate contextual information such as adverse environmental conditions,» directly affecting your avatar too.
AirRes Mask comes equipped with a half-face respirator, sensor, and resistance disk, recreating the feeling of being suffocated. Now, before you get any weird ideas, the research team's goal is to simulate “real-time breathing resistance,” using a virtual firefighting demonstration to explain how this technology replicates tricky environmental conditions.
In this demo, smoke soon fills up your virtual space and AirRes Mask restricts your breathing to simulate this sensation, decreasing your avatar's stamina too. Once the fire gets extinguished, AirRes Mask restores your airflow. It's a process that increases a user's stress levels to better simulate real-life conditions, ideal for training new recruits. However, as this is experimental tech, don't expect to
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