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Can this tractor beam approach be used to gently push a finger in mid-air? Or create the illusion of a solid object where there's none? I'm wondering about appl

Can this tractor beam approach be used to gently push a finger in mid-air? Or create the illusion of a solid object where there's none? I'm wondering about applications to virtual reality.

yorwba 9y ago
There's this company using ultrasound for touchless haptic feedback: https://www.ultrahaptics.com/ https://www.ultrahaptics.com/
- j_s 9y ago
  This is awesome! Any further info / alternatives / etc. that you have time to provide would be greatly appreciated. found: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11025820 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11025820
amelius 9y ago
But if somebody stands between the transmitter and the target, the "object" would disappear. I'm guessing this would make the UX pretty crappy. Also, what if the tractor beam inadvertently attaches to your eardrum? (Ok, headphones could solve that)
- mrfusion 9y ago
  The game could place things that require touch in certain parts of the room (or orient you in that manner) (Hmm sounds like something that might get patented. Can this be prior art and I donate to you guys?)
  - amelius 9y ago
    Another option would be to prevent another person to stand in the beam. This could be achieved using very strong haptic feedback from another transmitter :) Or spread multiple transmitters around the room (or even attached to the person's suit) to (try to) prevent blockage. That could work but there are loopholes and thus it's both expensive and not theoretically satisfying.
andars 9y ago
Yes. Here is a paper from some Japanese researchers in 2015: http://www.hapis.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp/public/hiroyuki_shinoda/research/pdf/WHC2015/WHC15_inoue.pdf http://www.hapis.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp/public/hiroyuki_shinoda/res...