(Image source from: A wearable book that makes you feel real emotions)

Here is one helluva invention for all the bookworms out there!

Until now, all it took was a hearty narrative by the author to pull the chords of a reader's mind and transport them into the fantasy world.

Fast forward to this digital age, and you have a book that not only can be worn, but can help you feel the emotions of the characters in the book, physically.

Researchers at MIT's Media Lab, under the project 'sensory fiction' has created a wearable book that comes with sensors and actuators and can be hooked up to the vest.

As the plot progresses, the book stirs in physical sensations in the body, similar to the ones felt and experienced by the characters in the book.

For example, if the protagonist faces fear, then air pressure bags will constrict reader's chest to make it feel tighter. Similarly, in cases of sadness, the inbuilt LED lights will dim to create the ambiance. If a character is embarrassed, then a heating device will chance the temperature of the skin. Now that is simply wow!

The prototype story used was James Tiptree Junior's novella ‘The Girl Who Was Plugged In’.

Adam Roberts, a science fiction writer, is reported in the Guardian as saying the concept is ‘infantalising, like reverting to those sorts of books we buy for toddlers that have buttons in them to generate relevant sound-effects.'

Image Source: Daily Mail

AW: Suchorita Choudhury