Touching a Hologram
Some really clever researchers at the University of Tokyo’s Shinoda lab have figured out how to rig up a haptic-feedback hologram system. Using two Nintendo Wii remotes (Wiimotes) to figure out a person’s location, an image is displayed on a convex mirror to generate a holographic effect. That’s been done before, but the the really cool part is the use of an “Airborne Ultrasound Tactile Display” which they developed. The ultrasound display uses air to generate force at specific points in space so the holographic image can not only be seen, but it can be felt. The video below is much better at explaining this, have a look:
There are all sorts of potential applications for this type of technology. I can easily see this combined with motion sensing controllers to create a whole new generation of virtual-reality video games.
Click here to view the abstract for this research as it was submitted to SIGGRAPH 2009.
