MIT Invents A Shapeshifting Display You Can Reach Through And Touch

Next step: grab an object through the screen, and pull it out, and it materializes on the other side.... some how.

reply to post by Mugen


This has 37 stars since yesterday, why isn't it showing up on the front page? Post for the bump, it's been something like six hours since this was bumped. Should be pointed out to everyone to give them the chance to see this interesting development in computer tech.

reply to post by Mugen


Wow. This surely is revolutionary. Kind of scary what the future might bring though. ~$heopleNation

Doctors could treat over the internet and surgeons could operate.

And massuses could massage

And soldiers could kill controlling robots without getting dirty hands

And I could send David Cameron, Blair and Bush a virtual finger!

I'm not impressed. Only because I invented something similar to this when I was 12 when I was playing with a Pin Art / Pinscreen. I wanted to be able to use one pinscreen to control another pinscreen over the internet, so I could "shake hands" with someone on the other side of the world. I should have made one, but never did.

From the video it looks like freshman level stop motion animation

I need to see this thing in person.

Oh my oh my!

I sure do hope we as the Human Race survive long enough to see what kind of stuff we will have 50,100,200, 1000 years from now.

I am almost completely speechless. Like, freaking whoa!

Id rather interact with a person.

"Hey look, I can play with a ball without touching it."
"Squirrel!"

bored

reply to post by Mugen


simply amazing, can't wait to see more of this technology in a finer way.

This is pretty cool!

I could imagine a haptic keyboard that changes shape depending on the game you play to come out of this. Of course, that would be one giant keyboard... Eventually you could have much smaller buttons, but perhaps not too small in the event that they get so small to pierce the skin. Not like I would personally have anything against this, would be kinky after all hahaha! But I'm sure a bug at such a small button would leave the company stuck in a lawsuit I for one welcome this kind of haptic system especially if they can make each "pixel" as small as a pixel on a monitor. Perhaps a robust version of this could in theory create an entire environment like a holodeck.

I wonder if I can get my girlfriend to sit on it.

I fail to see what's so fascinating about this. Sure, its cool that technology will soon let us physically manipulate systems at distance and interact with software, but I only see it as the next step in turning our lives completely artificial. I would prefer if we kept technology from going that far, but its clear that's not what the majority feels. Oh well...

Why can we create such things ,but we still rely on gas powerd cars ect ect .....?

As a design idea goes its very cool and very inventive.

As a functional device I dont see the scope.

But thats just me. Im usually the first on board the new technology band wagon.

I still think the Occulus rift is the greatest thing since sliced break and it will be out soon too.

Mark my words everything is going to be virtual reality and augmented reality...well it sort of is already.

Blind people will be very happy with this...
I believe I've seen this concept in Man of steel?]

Mugen
Next step: grab an object through the screen, and pull it out, and it materializes on the other side.... some how.

this would be possible, but pointless since you would need the blocks to arrange them, you may as well just arrange what you want anyway.

The issue of disconnecting the blocks could use magnetic, electrical retractable pins in each of the blocks themselves, controlled by a an rfid tab and battery in each block with 6 servos. Probably impracticable, but it would work.

additionally if each block was connected to the next in the pile with a lego type clicklock, you could make shapes that could be picked up out of the display, again not sure why you would want to.

i think the best possible use for this kind of display is showing altitude on maps, imagine on a jet fighter or heliopter you can bring up a location below you from radar amd have it appear exactly how it is below you for a perfect land on rough terrain etc. (and put led panels on top of each stack showng actual video! OMG that would be amazing.

Yet another idea, stretch a flexible LCD panel over the whole thing and use the moving parts as the lights 0.o

LightningStrikesHere
Why can we create such things ,but we still rely on gas powerd cars ect ect .....?

Because there kinds of inventions are easy to build with our current technology, but an alternative to gas is not within our technological bounds right now. Maybe within 20-years there will be something feasible.

727Sky
Thanks for posting.. My first thought was to miniaturize the pillars or columns down to something less than a tooth pick's circumference for finer detail and manipulations.

Many things coming or hidden are truly amazing.

I was thinking along the same lines - increase the "resolution" by decreasing the size of the pins and increasing the number of pins present - in Apple speak, it'd be a "retina" pin display. :-)


Even better, make each pin capable of transmitting light or even actual graphics. A few scenes in the video show colored light shining down on the pins - better if they produce their own! The experiments with wrappable display technology are applicable I suppose - when each pin becomes a video screen, then you get even more fantastic results, as the top of the pin could be lit, the rest black or "off" resulting in a faux 3D display (3d it truly is, but I mean if you wanted an object to appear to float above the base or some such).

Heck, think Inside the box and put the pin board also on the sides and top, so pins can protrude from all directions. Then you can actually squeeze/compress real world objects ("kneed your own pizza dough! Learn how to apply postage stamps!").

Nifty tech, though the pins make it limited - when they can instantly move and suspend say tiny balls in a 3D area via magnetics or some such then you can have actual 3d objects, tho this would also be limited as interacting with the objects would be impossible, or at least impractical for most applications as it would destroy it! :-)

WeAre0ne
I'm not impressed. Only because I invented something similar to this when I was 12 when I was playing with a Pin Art / Pinscreen. I wanted to be able to use one pinscreen to control another pinscreen over the internet, so I could "shake hands" with someone on the other side of the world. I should have made one, but never did.

edit on 14-11-2013 by WeAre0ne because: (no reason given)

I agree. I designed (but never built) something very similar years ago, when I was attempting to create a touchable "hologram". Except that in my design, the pins also had the option of being luminous, so you can see it in the dark.

If this screen could smack me, I'd probably have to put more thought into my posts. Safe for now though too bad