This is the way the world ends

[tirant]

Aside from creation of a TASP, Grey Goo, Nuclear war, or a singularity, one of the main fears for the world ending is the creation of a holodeck.

Well, scientists in Japan have created touchable holograms.

Other interesting tidbit, it uses a Wiimote...

Comments

[annachronism]

Whoa!! I totally had my money on the Grey Goo, too!

This video is very cool, but I didn't exactly follow. How does the hand "feel" the rain drops? It doesn't, right? Was that just a translation glitch? Is it just that the Wiimotes "sense" where the hand is, and then these smarty researchers have created mathematical possibilities for how the hand would deflect raindrops in a given position?

[tirant]

no, my unstanding is that the hand DOES feel the rain drops, because there are ultrasonic sounds generated which cause presure on your hand.

So no dancing with holographic partners just yet, but a significant step in that direction.

[tirant]

understanding

although, I am sitting now, so that could be unstanding as well. ;)

[annachronism]

Ahhhh. Thank you. Very creepy and awesome. I hope they make it in keychain format so you can sneak up behind people and straight-up ultrasound them into thinking they're in the rain (obviously, more R&D required). Ha!

[hamtrap]

It may be easier to shrink people to fit in the thing than to scale up this technology.

[tirant]

well, that would certainly have uses as well. provided it can be undone of course.