New Research Creates Invisible, Touchable Virtual Shapes
There was more to Star Trek’s holodeck than holograms. The promise of this fantastic device wasn’t just that it could show you an adventure visually. It had a tactile element. When Jean Luc Picard was macking on non-existent film noir chicks as Private Detective Dixon Hill in Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes like “The Big Goodbye,” he could feel them, and we’ll let your imagination go from there. It’s a vital component to a fully immersive virtual reality experience, and one that just a bit closer thanks to research at Bristol University. The researchers have used focused ultrasound to create 3D virtual shapes that hover in mid-air. You can touch and feel the contours of these shapes. The researchers say this tactile element could be added to 3D displays to create a convincing virtual experience. Their suggestions for use include, for example, a surgeon exploring a CT scan with her hands or virtual museum displays. “Touchable holograms, immersive virtual reality that you can feel and complex touchable controls in