A remarkable new screen shows floating holograms that you can reach out and feel
HaptoMime is a holographic display that presents virtual floating images that you can reach out and touch.
The holograms are created using a clever trick of reflection, but then the sensation of touch is stimulated by ultrasound.
The machine tracks where your fingers are and then emits a steerable ultrasound beam to make it feel as though you are touching a physical object and not just waving your hand through the air - which is what you’d usually feel if you tried to touch a hologram of this sort.
You can reach out and feel the virtual objects and move them around in what looks like mid-air. You can also play a virtual piano keyboard or type onto an ATM keypad seemingly floating in mid-air - you can feel the keys as you press down on them.
The ultrasonic vibrations can be tweaked so that you feel different sensations, whether that might be a firm surface, buttons that press down, or a gust of air.
HaptoMime was created by Yasuaki Monnai and colleagues from the University of Tokyo. He believes that this sort of interface could be used on public computing devices to stop the spread of germs.
