Japan scientists create 3-D images you can touch
TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Imagine a light switch or a book that appears only when you need it -- Japanese scientists are one step closer to making the stuff of sci-fi films into reality after creating a hologram that can also be felt.
"Up until now, holography has been for the eyes only, and if you'd try to touch it, your hand would go right through," Hiroyuki Shinoda, professor at Tokyo university and one of the developers of the technology, told Reuters.
"But now we have a technology that also adds the sensation of touch to holograms."
Holograms -- three-dimensional images -- are commonly found on credit cards, DVDs and CDs to prevent forgery, and larger scale holograms have been used in entertainment.
By using ultrasonic waves, the scientists have developed software that creates pressure when a user's hand "touches" a hologram that is projected.
I just hope I am not too old to enjoy holodecks when they come out.
