Ultrahaptics, Is that kinda like Ultraviolence?
Well, not quite my fellow droogs. What we’re here to talk about is Ultrahaptics or enhanced multi-point, mid-air haptic feedback. The new feedback mechanics will allow you to feel more than just the basic vibrations, it enables the user to interact and feel the tactile feedback ‘mid-air’ even before your finger hits the screen. Absolutely amazing technology.
In the demonstration video below, the user is able to sense things through multi-point tactile feedback like: elevation changes of the land, population density and the ever popular “You are here” location point, all without even looking at the screen.
The Bristol University research team is responsible for engineering such Ultrahaptics. The completely new method to the madness is achieved by utilizing acoustic radiation vs spinning weights to create the sensations.
Ultrasonic transducers used in a phased array allow movement to be converted into sound waves that are focused into many different areas that converge at a given point and provide the sonic feedback to your fingers and/or hands. By changing the frequency of the modulation the user can perceive different textures or buttons or whatever. WThis allows the Ultrahaptics technology to provide multi-point tactile feedback mid air to simulate things like perhaps swiping a page, pushing a button or perhaps even virtual braille for visually impaired individuals.
“It’s funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on a screen”
-Alex DeLarge , A Clockwork Orange
image courtesy of Warner Bros.
