OSHAWA — Imagine shooting a machine gun in a video game and feeling the jolt of the kickback on your shoulder.

Soon you’ll be able to as IFTech, an Oshawa-based startup, will accept pre-orders on its virtual reality gaming suit in May.

The co-founders of the suit, father and son duo, Michael and Brodie Stanfield, will offer pre-orders for their wearable video game technology by the end of the month.

The suit called As Real As It Gets is designed for entertainment purposes and military applications.

“It’s the next level,” says Brodie Stanfield, co-CEO of the company. “With ARAIG you can go get shot and you get the repercussions.”

The suit contains 34 vibratory devices, eight stimulation devices, along with a 7.1 surround-sound system, computer and wireless battery.

It covers the shoulders, front, back and traps and uses muscle contraction technology to add further realism to virtual impacts. The combination provides various sensations to the user from tingling to muscle contractions that can lock limbs in place.

Mr. Stanfield says the suit started as a shared idea in 2007 while they were playing video games in the basement.

“We both had a light bulb go off at the same time,” he says.” How about you wear something so you can physically feel what’s going on with your body?”

Thanks to networking through the Spark Centre, Durham College, UOIT and other organizations, the idea has become a reality.

“Everything we have ever done by finding the best people to partner with has been through networking,” Mr. Stanfield says. “Without them it would still be my dad and I in our basement, pushing along.”

The suit is made of two sections. One is a thin washable undershirt, which contains stimulation technology for the muscle contractions.

Continue reading on DurhamRegion.com