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SCIENTISTS CREATED HOLOGRAMS YOU CAN TOUCH—YOU COULD SOON SHAKE A VIRTUAL
COLLEAGUE’S HAND

By
Ravinder Dahiya
-
Oct 01, 2021
0

The TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced millions of people to the
idea of a holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a
complete environment that you could interact with and even touch.

In the 21st century, holograms are already being used in a variety of ways, such
as medical systems, education, art, security and defense. Scientists are still
developing ways to use lasers, modern digital processors, and motion-sensing
technologies to create several different types of holograms that could change
the way we interact.

My colleagues and I working in the University of Glasgow’s bendable electronics
and sensing technologies research group have now developed a system of holograms
of people using “aerohaptics,” creating feelings of touch with jets of air.
Those jets of air deliver a sensation of touch on peoples’ fingers, hands, and
wrists.

In time, this could be developed to allow you to meet a virtual avatar of a
colleague on the other side of the world and really feel their handshake. It
could even be the first step towards building something like a holodeck.

To create this feeling of touch we use affordable, commercially available parts
to pair computer-generated graphics with carefully-directed and controlled jets
of air.

In some ways, it’s a step beyond the current generation of virtual reality,
which usually requires a headset to deliver 3D graphics and smart gloves or
handheld controllers to provide haptic feedback, a stimulation that feels like
touch. Most of the wearable gadgets-based approaches are limited to controlling
the virtual object that is being displayed.

Controlling a virtual object doesn’t give the feeling that you would experience
when two people touch. The addition of an artificial touch sensation can deliver
the additional dimension without having to wear gloves to feel objects, and so
feels much more natural.



Pushing a button allows the user to feel pressure which feels like touch.
University of Glasgow, Author provided


USING GLASS AND MIRRORS

Our research uses graphics that provide the illusion of a 3D virtual image. It’s
a modern variation on a 19th-century illusion technique known as Pepper’s Ghost,
which thrilled Victorian theatergoers with visions of the supernatural onstage.

The systems uses glass and mirrors to make a two-dimensional image appear to
hover in space without the need for any additional equipment. And our haptic
feedback is created with nothing but air.

The mirrors making up our system are arranged in a pyramid shape with one open
side. Users put their hands through the open side and interact with
computer-generated objects which appear to be floating in free space inside the
pyramid. The objects are graphics created and controlled by a software program
called Unity Game Engine, which is often used to create 3D objects and worlds in
videogames.

Located just below the pyramid is a sensor that tracks the movements of users’
hands and fingers, and a single air nozzle, which directs jets of air towards
them to create complex sensations of touch. The overall system is directed by
electronic hardware programmed to control nozzle movements. We developed an
algorithm which allowed the air nozzle to respond to the movements of users’
hands with appropriate combinations of direction and force.

One of the ways we’ve demonstrated the capabilities of the “aerohaptic” system
is with an interactive projection of a basketball, which can be convincingly
touched, rolled, and bounced. The touch feedback from air jets from the system
is also modulated based on the virtual surface of the basketball, allowing users
to feel the rounded shape of the ball as it rolls from their fingertips when
they bounce it and the slap in their palm when it returns.

Users can even push the virtual ball with varying force and sense the resulting
difference in how a hard bounce or a soft bounce feels in their palm. Even
something as apparently simple as bouncing a basketball required us to work hard
to model the physics of the action and how we could replicate that familiar
sensation with jets of air.


SMELLS OF THE FUTURE

While we don’t expect to be delivering a full Star Trek holodeck experience in
the near future, we’re already boldly going in new directions to add additional
functions to the system. Soon, we expect to be able to modify the temperature of
the airflow to allow users to feel hot or cold surfaces. We’re also exploring
the possibility of adding scents to the airflow, deepening the illusion of
virtual objects by allowing users to smell as well as touch them.

As the system expands and develops, we expect that it may find uses in a wide
range of sectors. Delivering more absorbing video game experiences without
having to wear cumbersome equipment is an obvious one, but it could also allow
more convincing teleconferencing. You could even take turns adding components to
a virtual circuit board as you collaborate on a project.

It could also help clinicians to collaborate on treatments for patients, and
make patients feel more involved and informed in the process. Doctors could
view, feel, and discuss the features of tumor cells, and show patients plans for
a medical procedure.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons
license. Read the original article.

Image Credit: Vandrage Artist / Shutterstock.com

 * TAGS
 * Tech

Ravinder Dahiya
Ravinder is Professor of Electronics and Nanoengineering and EPSRC Research
Fellow. He is the leader of Bendable Electronics and Sensing Technologies (BEST)
research group. His multidisciplinary group conducts fundamental research on
high-mobility materials based flexible electronics, electronic skin, and
wearable systems and their application in robotics, prosthetics and healthcare.
He has p...
Learn More

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