While there are all sorts of gesture controls for the touchscreen devices of today, how about a screen where you can actually pinch, pull and push? This is the question that was asked by Dhairya Dand and Rob Hemsley of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Using an elastic interactive display with depth cameras, the screen allows for a third axis of motion, which means you can actually push and pull on the display.
Named "Obake" which the researchers have termed as being a "shape shifter" in Japanese, the elastic-like display works by sensing varying degrees of input. Through linear actuators the screen stays pinched if you were to pinch-pull a mountain up into being. The researchers who created this screen say that rather than rely on illusions of 3D, this Obake interface actually allows you to do so. They also envision this type of elastic screen making it's way to smartphones. While an elastic screen would certainly be shatter proof, one can't help but wonder if this isn't the virtual interface for more cyber-interactive applications. The interface and screen are clearly at a developmental stage still, so there is no idea if or when it may arrive on your smartphone. Click here to see the full video.
[Source]
COMMENTS