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Haptic Glove Lets You Feel Distant Objects Underwater (discovery.com)

Posted by samzenpus on from the reach-out-and-touch-something dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Ph.D. candidates Aisen Caro Chacin and Takeshi Ozu at Japan's Tsukuba University have created a haptic sonar glove that allows wearers to "feel" objects that are out of reach underwater. "IrukaTact" uses sonar to detect items from a distance, and applies increasing pressure to the fingertips as the user moves closer. The glove has been packaged as a DIY kit that could potentially be used to search for victims or sunken objects, as well as for specific hazards, such as sinkholes.

11 of 29 comments (clear)

  1. Marco by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    Polo

  2. Remotely groping people in Tokyo's subways by ffkom · · Score: 2

    This coming from Japan I just cannot resist the urge to predict the first "killer application" for this technology: Not for tedious underwater work, of course, but for remotely groping foreign people without being noticed in Tokyo's packed subways. ;-)

    1. Re:Remotely groping people in Tokyo's subways by sunderland56 · · Score: 1

      Last time I rode them, Tokyo's subways were not under water.

      At the beaches, though, I see your point. Bonus points if the glove looks like a tentacle.

    2. Re:Remotely groping people in Tokyo's subways by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      "remotely groping foreign people without being noticed in Tokyo's packed subways"

      Who says that "underwater work" has to be tedious? Not for onsen no chikan, it won't be.

    3. Re:Remotely groping people in Tokyo's subways by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      Not for tedious underwater work, of course, but for remotely groping

      Well, subway groping jokes aside ... it's all still the same old teledildonics. A glove which can be used to 'feel' remotely is half way to an internet handjob, subway or no.

      As you point out, the killer application is almost always sex.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  3. Oooh, so does that mean... by scubamage · · Score: 1

    We'll be opening the Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation soon!?!?

  4. Am I the only one.... by mark-t · · Score: 1

    ... to think of rule 34 when I read this?

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
  5. feeling your unborn child by goombah99 · · Score: 1

    Selling this for use with pre-natal ultrasound would be in high demand.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
  6. Underwater? by robi5 · · Score: 1

    I haven't RTFA but what's underwater specific about it? The haptic gloves stop working above sea level? If you have haptic gloves - basically a rendering device like a computer screen - you can show anything on it, like virtual objects in a 3D scene, or ... surface scenery, or cloud distributions (I mean old fashioned, floating clouds in the air) or even remote galaxies.The very definition of a rendering device is that you can render whatever you want, up to the constraints of the device (resolution etc.) which all have nothing to do with what is rendered.

  7. Re:feel? by Vokkyt · · Score: 1

    I don't think it's quite the same league as interstellar travel...

    This is a change of output on an existing technology from the audio/visual output that we're used to when we think about SONAR, not really an advancement of the technology itself. As has been mentioned in other posts, this isn't really new and like the AC you're condescending to, I'm kind of wondering what practical purpose this has.

    The title is absolutely misleading, as you don't feel objects, you get a haptic response based on distance away. At best it's good for a game of hot/cold where you have no idea if the feedback your getting is for the object you're looking for or not. Your scenario of a blind person being able to use sonar is certainly intriguing, though I do sort of wonder if they would have the same efficacy as someone in front of a SONAR screen (assuming both equally experienced in their trade).

    Not every question about a new product is a dismissal, sometimes it's just asking valid questions that the person asking doesn't have an answer to.

  8. Re:feel? by dpidcoe · · Score: 1

    The title is absolutely misleading, as you don't feel objects, you get a haptic response based on distance away. At best it's good for a game of hot/cold where you have no idea if the feedback your getting is for the object you're looking for or not

    Sort of. It really depends on how fine grained the sonar is and how much lag exists between movement and feedback. With a small gradient, fast feedback, and some high resolution sonar I'd bet you could get it very close to something akin to feeling the object through gloves.