Ultrasound allows you to grope virtual objects

The picture on the left shows that the forms created by ultrasound can literally feel in the air. Thanks to the new development of engineers from the University of Tokyo , the energy of ultrasound will soon be able to use, for example, developers of computer games to "draw" figures of the most complex form in the air, while clearly tangible. Now the first steps have been taken in this direction.

Japanese scientists have designed the device, which in itself is quite simple: it consists of a number of ultrasound transducers controlled from a computer. The ultrasonic waves generated by each of the transmitters in the places of interference create focal points that are tangible to the touch. From these points you can draw whole shapes.

In the Japanese prototype there is also a digital camera that constantly monitors the position of the user's hand and puts the focus on it. At the moment, the number of ultrasonic transmitters is only enough to draw small vertical strings, but the developers promise that in the future the geometry of the devices will become much more complicated. They will be able to transmit even textures through the air.

Despite the relative primitiveness of the device, the development team has already received several commercial offers from a number of industrial companies. Obviously, such a “materialization” of objects can be used not only in the entertainment industry, but also in 3D modeling and other fields.