Holodecks are on the Way

Motion tracking. Multi-touch. Facial recognition. Sixaxis.

These are the buzz words that drive video game peripheral sales and innovation in controls. But what about the actual feedback that games give us? We focus so much on how we interact with a game, yet very little on how a game interacts back (outside of force feedback and shaking chairs).

Well, researchers at the Uni of Tokyo have come to save us from the doldrums of game unnovation! Their answer: touchable holograms. In this Siggraph 2009 video they explain how utilizing ultrasonic waves coupled with holographic imagery and motion tracking (using a WiiMote) the researchers has created a way to interact with the holograms… and potentially have them interact back. The waves have shown to be pinpoint accurate in input, even to the level of creating texture. Imagine picking up a hologram baseball and feeling the stitches and leather, moments before you hurl it at the screen in The Bigs 2018. Or better yet, imagine throwing the imaginary ball to your kid brother across the room as he swings an imaginary bat.

Project Natal? WiiMotion Plus? That’s already so passe!

[via Gizmodo]