Mellott's VRAura Thunderchair Project
Ever seen those expensive rumble chairs and wondered why does it cost so much. Well it shouldn’t. If your willing to do it yourself you can add a rumble device to your current computer chair for approx. 20.00 USD plus shipping. It will work just as well as any device you can buy. I have pictures of the project and will post them when time permits.
The solution is extremely simple. Take an Aura Interactor Rumble vest, available from O’Shea for 20.00 plus shipping, gut it and mount it to the bottom of your current computer chair. It will produce the same rumbling effect as any other ‘rumble chair’ on the market. If you want a more powerful rumble then purchase some aura bass shakers on Ebay. Search for bass shakers and you can usually pick them up for around 30 to 40 USD. People have been doing it for years with their sofas to add to their custom home theaters. Here’s another example of this project.
I have a computer chair with the bass shaker from the Aura Interactor Vest installed. It works very well and was extremely cheap.
You’ll need:
an Aura Interactor Vest
Some basic hand tools
Possibly a drill and bits
Some type of strap
6-Wood screws
And about 1/2 hour of time
The first step is to gut your Aura Interactor Vest. Just remove everything plastic from the vest itself. When your finished you’ll end up with a bass shaker. It will be a round metal device with some plastic on top. This is what you will mount under your chair to produce your ‘force-feedback’ effect.
Leave the Aura Interactor AMPLIFIER in its plastic housing. This is the box with the round end that the power supply and the vest plug into. You’ll secure this to the bottom of your chair with a strap and two wood screws. Everything will connect to this amplifier just like it did orginally with the Interactor vest.
Most home office computer chairs will have a wood or hard cardboard bottom on them where the stand and wheels attach. You’ll use your 6 wood screws to mount the bass shaker and amplifier to the bottom of the chair. Two for the strap to hold the amplifier and 4 to mount the bass shaker. NOTE: The bass shaker must be secure for the ‘force-feedback’ effect to be felt. This means it cant be loose at all. Make sure it is firmly secured.
Once you have these two pieces mounted plug everything in according to the instructions that came with your Aura Interactor Vest and your ready to go. A cheap and effective rumble chair for approx. 20.00 dollars. Virtual Reality doesnt have to be expensive. Have fun and good luck.
Here’s a picture of the insides of an Aura Interactor Vest mounted to the bottom of a computer chair.
