The idea of being able to feel objects in virtual reality has become a popular one, especially after the announcement of the Dexmo exoskeleton glove and other force feedback techniques. Now, scientists at the University of Bristol have invented haptic holograms made of sound waves. Haptic feedback in mid-air has been successfully done, but UltraHaptics is different, and kind of magical. The scientists use “forced ultrasound in a way that creates a 3D shape out of air that you can see and feel”.

The potential uses for something like this are incredible. Mid-air haptics could provide an intense gaming experience, like the ability to pour liquid into a cup or feel the surface of some grass. Beyond gaming, talk about amazing Iron Man-like computer interfaces, as well as helping out surgeons and medical specialists feel tumors that have been rendered from a 3D model of a CT scan (Cnet).

UltraHaptics, explained by the researchers who know it best, is as follows:

“The 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 be felt as floating 3D shapes... The system generates an invisible 3D shape that can be added to 3D displays to create something that can be seen and felt.” Gizmodo

The feedback incorporates Leap Motion technology, using its sensor to track where the user's hand is. UltraHaptics directs ultrasound where the hands are in relation to the invisible object, and that space in between the two is sculpt into a visible and touchable object (a full sphere instead of just outlines). By itself, haptics cannot be seen. However, projecting the 3D volumes onto oil shows the shapes as the ultrasound disturbs the surface.

The research, called “Rendering volumetric haptic shapes in mid-air using ultrasound”, is currently published in ACM Transactions on Graphics. The study will also be on display for all to see at the SIGGRAPH Asia 2014.