Periodically, Netflix will host a ‘Hack Day’ to give its employees the chance to experiment with technology.
The most recent Hack Day was held last month, with the streaming giant now revealing some of the interesting creations that came out of it.
The most mobile-relevant project was the Rumble Pak, an accessory that explores how haptic feedback can enhance the viewing experience. To create the device, Netflix employees Hans van de Bruggen and Ed Barker synchronized Netflix content with haptic effects using Immersion Corporation technology.
In practice, this means that you’ll receive a vibration to your viewing device that’s in tune to what’s happening on screen.
For example, an explosion, laser blast or clank of a sword will generate vibration on your device in response, similar to how the D-Box movie theatre chairs move along with the action. In a video, the team shows off how a Samsung phone vibrates in tune with an episode of the Voltron anime series.
Other Hack Day projects include the “Voice of Netflix,” a speech recognition engine that can respond to verbal questions using the voices of popular Netflix characters, and “TerraVision,” which uses a computer model to help filmmakers search for filming locations.
Read more about Netflix’s Hack Day here.
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