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Tangible Display Makes 3D Touchable

Posted by Zonk on from the haptic-happenstance dept.

moon_monkey writes "Researchers in Japan have developed a display that makes 3D objects solid enough to grasp. The system, created by engineers at Japan's NTT, combines a 3D display with a haptic glove, making 3D items that look real but also feel solid to touch. Two cameras are used to image an object, to make the 3D image. A computer also uses this to render a solid representation. It could be used to inspect products remotely, or even to shake hands with someone on the other side of the world, the researchers say."

15 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. Did somebody say McDonald's? by UbuntuDupe · · Score: 4, Funny

    And by "McDonald's", I of course mean "teledildonics"?

    --
    Apology to Ubuntu forum.
  2. How long until this is in the home? by jandrese · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think porn manufacturers just popped a woody. Making it feel "real" is probably a long way off though, especially for home use.

    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
    1. Re:How long until this is in the home? by tomhudson · · Score: 4, Funny

      Knowing the pr0n industry, and guys in general - 5 years, tops.

      Then we'll be reading stories about people who die of starvation because they were so caught up in their cybersex world, that they forgot to eat, sleep, etc., and just died.

      And there will be clinics for cybersextoy addicts.

      And law suits.

      The big question for slashdotters, of course, is "Will it run linux?" This will be the first time they prefer Windows, because it can be depended to "go down on them" on a regular basis.

      And no, I don't want to imagine a Boewulf Cluster of them - it would be a REAL cluster-f*ck!

    2. Re:How long until this is in the home? by Wicko · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I will be the first person to ever receive a vjob.

    3. Re:How long until this is in the home? by skinfitz · · Score: 4, Funny

      Making it feel "real" is probably a long way off though, especially for home use. ...as opposed to work use..?
  3. Has to be said... by ushering05401 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Get money from pr0n kingpins. Bring them into the family and let them subsidize this tech/form their own group of researchers to specifically pursue porn related applications. It will get to market so much faster than if left to academics..

    My interest would be to explore new human/computer interactions (not like that sickos). The 2d nature of monitor systems is only slightly less annoying with the new 3d super gee whiz flying through space multiple workspace navigation systems.

    A haptic glove with sensitive feedback mechanisms and a graphical interface that allows organization of workspaces/workspace elements in an untethered 3d environment is something I have always wanted. Add in some good voice recognition and a chair designed so you can rest your arms while still retaining full range of motion with the gloved hand.

    It would be the interface of my dreams.

    1. Re:Has to be said... by snilloc · · Score: 3, Insightful
      The 2d nature of monitor systems is only slightly less annoying with the new 3d super gee whiz flying through space multiple workspace navigation systems.

      While 3d workspaces certainly would have their applications (medicine for instance), IMO for the average individual 3d would be merely re-creating the physical workspace that the 2d interface replaced. The 2d space is useful because it is an abstraction/simplification of the work that was previously done in 3d.

  4. Re:application by poopdeville · · Score: 3, Funny

    No SHIT!

    That is SO INSIGHTFUL! I'm REELING at the POSSIBILITIES!

    --
    After all, I am strangely colored.
  5. Tits? by imag0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Tits?

    Wake me when there's tits and we'll talk. /mmmm. downloadable b00bies.

  6. Back to the Future by glittalogik · · Score: 3, Funny

    Where we're going, you won't need lube...

  7. Old news by Scutter · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I remember using a haptic glove like this at Comdex like 10 years ago. The display wasn't 3D, but other than that, it was essentially the same thing. The glove had force-feedback motors in each fingertip and when you grasped one of the objects on the screen, they provided tactile feedback representing mass, weight, and to a much lesser extent, texture. In the demonstration, you had to stack blocks of varying types. Very simplistic, but also very very cool. I always wondered where the tech went since I never saw it again after that.

    --

    "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
  8. Non-pr0n applications by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So, I'm the 14th person to comment, so I'm 14 people too late to point out the pr0n application. So here's a few nifty, but not dirty, uses:

    1. Music lessons on the computer.
    2. Virtual keyboard/mouse. Hey, that portable computer just became a lot closer.
    3. Controlling robots.

    Shoot, I'm sorry, I'm too excited about the pr0n application. Will these gloves be waterproof for easy cleaning?

    --
    Your ad here. Ask me how!
  9. Re:on bodies by pyrrhonist · · Score: 3, Funny

    You had me at, "Hello".

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    Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
  10. Finally... by Heston · · Score: 3, Funny

    A device which allows us to punch people in the face....OVER THE Internet!

  11. 3d modeling. by jshriverWVU · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Add support in blender or Maya and I'll be a happy camper. I've always wish there was a way of creating 3d models via a virtual 3d sphere that you could pull, and mold into an object vs doing it with a mouse and keyboard.