As any Star Trek fan could tell you, tactile or touchable holograms are a staple of science fiction.
The Holodeck of the Starship Enterprise, where crew members can interact with realistic people and places for training and recreation, might be a long way away yet, but a new system could bring tactile holograms a step closer.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow have developed a system they call ‘aerohaptics’.
Haptic technology is the field of research dealing with creating an experience or sensation of touch and can use different techniques such as creating vibrations or applying a force.
Aerohaptics uses precision jets of air directed onto the user to create a sensation of touch combined with a 3D visual display.
The display they used in the system, which is described in the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems, is actually only a pseudo-holograph.
It uses a combination of mirrors and glass to cause a 2D image to appear to hover in space – essentially an updated version of an illusion from the 1800s known as Pepper’s Ghost.
This is combined with a commercially available Leap Motion Controller, an optical hand tracking system that captures the movements of the hand.
Air jets create tactile sensations when handling the virtual object
The moveable air nozzles then direct jets of air onto their palms, fingers and wrists with the volume and force adjusted depending on the type of contact and the nature of the virtual object.
For the purposes of the study, the researchers approximated the feeling of bouncing a basketball.
The pseudo-holograph of the ball appeared to move through space, while the motion tracker traced the movement of the participant’s hand.
When it came into contact with where the ball would be, the air jets created an aerohaptic sensation corresponding to the feel of the ball.
The feedback received was set to replicate the rounded surface of the ball and also varied in intensity depending on how fast the virtual ball was ‘hit’ and how fast it was travelling.
Future improvements could include adjusting the temperature of the air flow to give a sense of the virtual object being hot or cold.
Professor Ravinder Dahiya stated that most current haptic technology relied on wearable or handheld equipment, which could add to the cost and complexity of the systems.
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