A touchable holography display prototype has been built by University of Tokyo researchers. The device adds tactile feedback to a hovering three-dimensional image.
The tactile sensation is provided using an airborne ultrasound wave - acoustic radiation pressure. In laymen's terms, it pushes against your hand. Hand position is determined using the Wiimote tracking system; a retroreflective marker is attached to the tip of the user's right middle finger.
Take a look at the touchable holographic display video below.
(Touchable holographic display video)
In another example, raindrops appear to splatter on the user's hand. The position of the falling "drop" is synchronized with an ultrasound push that you feel on the palm of your hand.
This seems pretty close to the tactile net used by Frederik Pohl's Joymaker, a kind of super pda/phone that he describes in detail in his 1965 novel The Age of the Pussyfoot. The tactile net is used to present the user with a "virtual kiss" from a caller who left a message.
"Man Forrester, the personal callers are as follows:
...Adne Bensen: female, Universalist, Arcadian-Trimmer, twenty-three declared, five feet seven inches, experiencer-homeswoman, no business stated. Her kiss follows."
Forrester did not know what to expect but was pleasantly ready for anything.
What he got was indeed a kiss. It was disconcerting. No kissing lips were visible. There was a hint of perfumed breath, then a pressure on the lips - warm and soft, moist and sweet.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
Prairie Madness - And Space Sickness
'Space-sickness is one of the most unpleasant sensations that a human being can experience. Not all are subject to it...'
'Old People Began to Cross The Continent In Their Own Cars'
'It was a relief to enter one of the comfortable autos, whisper a direction down the tube, and just know that you would be taken to your destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest manner.'
Starfall Manufacturing Drugs In Space
'The vast spinning sphere of Factory in the Sky loomed above and ahead of us, gleaming white against the unfathomable jet depths of surrounding space.'
The Solar Oberth Slingshot
'And if it doesn’t work,' inquired Lazarus, 'what does that make us? Sunspots?'
'If Anyone Is Watching Earth...'
'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'