Mind-Blowing Interfaces On Display At SIGGRAPH 2009

An anonymous reader writes "Tech Review has a roundup of some cool, experimental new interfaces being shown at SIGGRAPH 2009, underway in New Orleans this week. They include an amazing 'touchable holograph' display, developed by a team in Japan, which uses an ultrasound device to simulate the sense of touch as the user grasps objects shown in 3D. The other ideas on display are Augmented Reality for Ordinary Toys, Hyper-Realistic Virtual Reality, 3D Teleconferencing and Scratchable Input Devices. If this is the future of computers, sign me up." The conference has also seen the release of OpenGL 3.2 by the Khronos Group.

Comments

Mind-blowing?

[SmallFurryCreature]

The first example, I seen a long time ago. A very bad hologram effect that really has little practical use. So, they added motion detection to it. Coupling TWO existing techs is not that mind-blowing. I would have been impressed if the hologram was either bigger, or more involved or the motion tracking had displayed something more. The ultra-sound for touch again has been done, it has also been tried with air, but really, if this is the future, then the future is still decades away.

The augmented reality TOY is a joke. Augmented reality MIGHT be worth something but this game is a pathetic example of it. Come on, we HAVE had laser games for YEARS. Also toys that shoot REAL (foam) rockets. Who is going to bother with a game where a simple cowboy's and indian's game takes this long and costs a fortune? Someone should give these guys a pc or console. Shooters have been done, both in the physical and virtual world and with a LOT more excitement.

The virtual reality... well, what is new this time? We seen this display for ages and for reason the 3d world always seem rather subpar to what a common console could render last year. So, I am in it. Useful for design but the future? Only for designers.

The 3d teleconfericing is even worse. Oh goodie, lets do away with ordinary monitors and beamers for quality video and instead buy a no-doubt expensive device that has a spinning plate in it and a huge black cowling, all that so we can see ONE face and nothing else.

And the scratching... that is just pathetic. I thought at first that it make a wall into a touch surface. Capable of detecting the POSITION. But no, this can just detect some sound. This is no more then the most basic voice control software provided over a decade or two ago. Record a sound and if that sound is repeated again with in certain parameters, a command is triggered. WHOO! That is the future! Oh wait, no it isn't. Can you imagine how many times you will either scratch wrong or do it accidently. Every time you bump your coffee-cup, your phone shuts-off.

All the above techs are somewhat intresting, but the "mindblowing" bit in the headline blew it for me. This stuff ain't mind-blowing. Just barely worthy of idle.