One day, Captain Janeway might just be able to hold hands with her hologram, Michael Sullivan.
(Everyone say ‘awwwww.’)
Thanks to the work of the Bristol Interaction and Graphics (BIG) group, we are a few steps closer to the fantasy land of the future – the Star Trek Holodeck. I loved watching all the Star Trek series, and while I enjoyed the episodes featuring the Holodeck, I felt like I had to dismiss reality to accept it. You can’t touch light. The holograms were light, right? Well, not entirely. BIG uses light AND sound. Sound you can’t hear (unless, maybe, you’re a teenager), in the ultrasonic range. Through the clever manipulation of sound, the holographic image gives the appearance (or rather, feel) that you’re touching the image.
This takes haptic response to a new level. Those with an Apple Watch already know a bit about haptic response. You touch the screen with Apple’s “force touch” and feel a haptic response. It’s an illusion. You’re feeling a vibration in response to your touch that mimics how a clicky key may respond to being tapped. It’s cool. We’re humans and we really dig putting our hands on something – but we can’t always do that. Imagine 3D imaging a mummified Pharaoh in his sarcophagus… you don’t want to open it right away, but you can x-ray it and image it in 3D. BIG’s technology would let you ‘feel’ the mummy. Ok, that’s a creepy example – but you get my drift.
Even the Holodeck could not make Worf a merry man, but it could be really cool for actual humans.
Perhaps a more practical (and less creepy) example would be a soldier in Iraq, Skyping with his wife as she gives birth to their child. Using this technology, they could not only see each other, he could theoretically stroke her hair – from across the ocean. As with any future tech invention – there are many steps to the journey that get us to an actual Holodeck – where you could actually engage in a kiss with the holographic image the way Janeway was able to on Star Trek: Voyager (and let’s not get into all the crazy adventures that Lt. Cmdr. Riker got into on the Holodeck!).
So – we’re not at the point of a handshake yet – but patty-cake, definitely… although without the sting. 🙂
You can keep up with BIG’s progress on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and their website.
