'Invisible' Virtual Shape Created with Ultrasound Can be Felt (VIDEO)

Imagine creating a virtual object--something that can be seen and felt, but isn't actually there in a solid sense. Sounds a bit like science fiction, right? Now, though, scientists have used ultrasound to develop an invisible 3D haptic shape that can be seen and felt.

The new method uses ultrasound, which is focused onto hands above the device and that can be felt. By focusing complex patterns of ultrasound, the air disturbances can actually be "seen" as floating 3D shapes. Visually, the scientists have demonstrated the ultrasound patterns by directing the device at a thin layer of oil so that the depressions in the surface can be seen as spots when lit by a lamp. Essentially, the system itself generates what can be an invisible, 3D shape that can potentially be added to 3D displays to create something that can be both seen and felt. In fact, the system is accurate enough that users can match a picture of a 3D shape to the shape created by the system.

"Touchable holograms, immersive virtual reality that you can feel and complex touchable controls in free space, are all possible ways of using this system," said Ben Long, one of the researchers, in a news release. "In the future, people could feel holograms of objects that would not otherwise be touchable, such as feeling the differences between materials in a CT scan or understanding the shapes of artifacts in a museum."

The new system could allow surgeons to explore a CT scan by enabling them to "feel" a disease, such as a tumor, using haptic feedback. In addition, this system could be used for virtual reality in the future.

The findings are published in the journal ACM Transactions on Graphics.

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).  

Want to learn more? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.