Japanese Scientists Create Touchable Holograms

english.ntdtv.com...
"The video is at the website"

Researchers at Tokyo University have come up with a technology that is a first and significant step away from the mouse and keyboard – touchable holograms. [Hiroyuki Shinoda, Professor, Tokyo University]: "Up until now, holography has been for the eyes only, and if you'd try to touch it, your hand would go right through. But now we have a technology that also adds the sensation of touch to holograms." The technology consists of software that uses ultrasonic waves to create pressure on the hand of a user “touching” the projected hologram. Researchers are using two Wiimotes from Nintendo’s Wii gaming system to track a user’s hand. The technology was introduced at SIGGRAPH, an annual computer graphics conference, and has so far only been tested with relatively simple objects. But its inventors have big plans for touchable holograms in the future. [Hiroyuki Shinoda, Professor, Tokyo University]: "For example, it's been shown that in hospitals, there can be contamination between people due to objects that are touched communally. But if you can change the switches and such into a virtual switch, then you no longer have worry about touch contamination. This is one application that's quite easy to see." Touchable holograms could be used for a wide variety of things... everything from light switches to books with each appearing when needed, and then disappearing when not. And holograms could replace the need for making new interfaces for technology, since they could be changed without having to make a new physical product.

Yay, a new step in human tech. Whoops did I say that? I think that this is quite promising and will save a lot of people, a lot of time. Just imagine, if you could design your own input and interface devices. Though it may never surface, simply because, big corporations make tons of money off of hard switching.
I recently wrote to Hiroyuki Shinoda, and asked him a couple of questions regarding some thoughts I had, along the lines of;

How difficult is it to map characters to frequencies.
Would it be possible to have multiple input holograms, each with their own purpose, yet each individual displaying as per your request?
Could complex texture mapping be achieved through frequency modulation.
And, most importantly, could a system be developed so that between two devices, one can relay complex mapping surfaces to the other? As in, you put your hand over one array, while I thousands of miles away feel it and we effectively shake hands?

We'll see what he says.

Originally posted by Romantic_Rebel
english.ntdtv.com...
"The video is at the website"

Researchers at Tokyo University have come up with a technology that is a first and significant step away from the mouse and keyboard – touchable holograms. [Hiroyuki Shinoda, Professor, Tokyo University]: "Up until now, holography has been for the eyes only, and if you'd try to touch it, your hand would go right through. But now we have a technology that also adds the sensation of touch to holograms."

That's the exact problem with the hologram starting at 5:30 in this video, if you try to touch it your hand goes right through.

(clip from "The 6th Day")
www.youtube.com...

I suspect the owner of this particular hologram might appreciate the enhancement of touch.

Viva la technology!

Of course I'm sure there are more practical applications too!

old news for me. I heard about that awhile back. God bless the Japanese. I had a feeling they would be the first to create a hologram of sorts. They are so obsessed with anime that they want it to become reality. Just like in America with star trek when it comes to new technology.