Disney Just Created a Magic Bench

Mixed reality could very well be the future of gaming and entertainment. Still, to take the next step beyond putting a dancing hot dog on your coffee table is going to take some ingenuity. The problem, you see, is you’re currently experiencing everything in a first-person POV. You’re staring at a screen or through some goggles at the world around you. Disney has stepped up to offer a fun alternative, the Magic Bench. By positioning the bench in front of a display, someone sitting on the bench can see themselves along with characters who hop up next to them. More, actuators underneath the Magic Bench vibrate and move to add a sort of tactile realism to the experience, a la a 4D theater. It’s far from the perfect augmented reality experience that will exist years from now, but it’s still pretty cool. No word yet on when and where you can experience the Magic Bench for yourself.