Game gun provides total recoil

VIDEO games that allow players to roam around with imaginary guns are about to become even more vivid with weapons that recoil like the real thing.

A worker from Dekka Technologies demonstrates the Stiker M4 in action.

VIDEO games like Call of Duty and Halo that allow players to roam around with imaginary guns killing at will are about to become even more vivid with weapons that recoil exactly like the real thing.

While the system is expected to prove attractive to gamers, it is likely to concern those already worried about the effect of violent titles on their children.

Kyle Monti and his team at Striker VR, an American virtual reality developer, started its project by applying sensors — such as accelerometers and gyroscopes that can be found in smartphones — to real weapons.

The information collected by these sensors allowed the computer engineers to create a plastic gun that can help players to think that they are firing the real thing. The gadget contains a small motor, known as an actuator, that delivers a kick similar to the recoil from a real gun. The impact can be adjusted according to the direction and speed the user is moving the device. "Members of the special forces or the secret service could tell the difference, but it's close enough to approximate the muscle memory needed by recruits to use a weapon," Mr Monti told New Scientist.

The shooting device is now being used alongside headset made by Oculus Rift, a virtual reality company bought recently by Facebook in a deal worth $2 billion. That gadget covers the eyes with a curved screen, giving the sensation that the wearer is surrounded by a computerised environment.

Grigore Burdea, a virtual reality researcher at Rutgers University in America, said that adding recoil would provide more realism to current virtual reality systems, but the weight of the device might deter players.

"Using electrical actuators is more expensive and could lead to arm fatigue in extended play," said Mr Burdea.

Mr Monti also addressed concerns that its technology would be used for violent games, saying his team was also looking for other uses for the system. One idea is to modifying the device to replicate a tennis racquet, so that players playing in a computer game could mimic the impact of hitting a ball.

"Fitting a gyroscope on the end of a racket could potentially allow adjustments to get the feeling of twist," said Martin Holly from Striker VR.

The Times