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Touchable Holograms: Interacting With Virtual Worlds
The idea of holograms date back to at least the 19th century when scientist John Pepper devised a method using mirrors that could produce a ghost-like illusion that became a popular technque used in theater, amusement parks, and concerts. These early illusions were based on classical optics and light reflection.
True holograms can generate an image that includes 3D depth, parallax and other properties. Holograms were invented in the 1940’s by Dennis Gabor and made practical in the 1960’s with the invention of the laser.
Researchers are looking at how holograms can be enhanced by merging them with other kinds of sensory stimulation, like touch and smell.
For example, researchers at the University of Glasgow created a system that directs a flow of air near the user’s hands. The airflow simulates the feedback of touching an object with the user’s hands. The result is that the user can interact with a scene through both vision and touch.
Ravinder Dahiya, professor at the University of Glasgow, said that “haptic feedback and volumetric display technology has come a long way in recent years, bringing us closer to being able to convincingly interact with virtual objects. However, current haptic tech often still involves wearable or handheld peripherals, which add cost and complication and could be holding back widespread adoption of the technology.”
Dahiya said that “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.” Applications of the technique include, of course, gaming, but could also be used for remote control of objects, such as by doctors collaborating, diagnosing, and even performing remote-controlled surgeries using robots.
Dahiya said that “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.”
