/ you can feel a force pushing or pushing back / the system can detect contact between fingers and the 3D picture /
The Ubiquitous Interaction Research Group at AIST has developed i3Space, a system that gives a sense of touch and interaction to 3D images. It also enables shapes to be designed while checking how they feel to touch.
“Until now, with 3D TV, when the picture came right out, and appeared before your eyes, you couldn’t touch it. This technology enables you to touch that 3D picture.”
In this system, position detector markers are attached to a compact tactile and kinesthetic interface. They recognize the user’s movements, and control the presentation of tactile and kinesthetic information in real time, to provide sensations from the 3D picture.
“To enable users to feel force, the system uses vibration. It’s like the vibration of a mobile phone. It creates an illusion by means of characteristic vibrations. Normally, vibration doesn’t have a direction of force, but with this technology, you can feel a force pushing or pushing back.”
This system can also measure the movement of several fingers from six directions simultaneously, so finger movement doesn’t get hidden by the palm. From the finger positions, the system can detect contact between fingers and the 3D picture, and when the user grips the picture. It also detects expansion and contraction after gripping. Based on this detection, the system enables the user to feel a force, by calculating the sensation and response between the 3D picture and the fingers, and controlling the interface accordingly.
“Games can now be played with 3D pictures, but at present, they’re played from a distance, with a remote control. With this system, when a picture appears before your eyes, you can manipulate it by touching or pushing it. The system could also be used for training purposes; for example, as a surgical simulator in medicine, providing sensations like using a scalpel. I think it could also enable people to touch sculptures in an art gallery while at home.”
From now on, the group will work to make the system more compact and improve its performance. They also plan to collaborate with electronics manufacturers, to enable the system to support smartphones, and develop applications and do field tests.
link to original post at http://www.diginfo.tv/2010/09/08/10-0154-r-en.php