For anyone who has seen a 3D movie, and found stuff flying at them and ducked, you need to prep yourself for an even more intense experience with the emerging 4D technology. Researchers at the University of California in San Diego have come up with a pair of 4D glasses which allow the user to be ‘touched’ by the objects that they see on screen.

The glasses were an off shoot of a science project that dealt with mapping out the areas of the brain that were responsible for multi sensory integration. In this case to see what parts of the brain were actively stimulated with sight and touch. The study is published in the journal “Human Brain Mapping”.

For the lay man the fruits of this science experiment have provided a boost to commercial entertainment possibilities. The device can be used in movies, music, games and other virtual reality using videos to provide an enhanced multi sensory effect to the user. So now you won’t just see the spaceship coming your way, you will actually feel it touch you as it passes by. I’m not too sure I want to wear these 4D glasses when I go to see a horror movie.