I don't even know what to say here, I can't come up with something witty. I have no idea what the actual application of this is, but it's one of the niftiest things I've seen in quite a while. Researchers at MIT's Tangible Media Group have developed what they call the INform system, that can, as they explain it, 'render 3-D content physically.' Similar to those pin-things you could get at science stores that would make the shape of your hand when you pressed your hand against it (as seen above), this allows someone remotely-located to have a 3-D presence by causing a similar pin-esque area to morph and flex to represent the persons hands, or anything else for that matter. Plus, they light up! If you're familiar with gaming technology, it's using 2 Kinect devices to interpret the movement of the person's hands.
I know this doesn't make any sense, I honestly could't think of any other way to describe it, so I am just linking the video from the project page itself. You can see how someone remotely located is manipulating the pins as though their hands were right there. Watch it, and be amazed. A more detailed behind-the-scenes video and writeup is available at CNN.
Although that was a really cool video, I don't get what it would be used for. Would you have to take that big mat thing with you in order to use it. Technology is really cool but something's are best if you leave them as is. I loved playing with that toy as a kid and would love it to stay that way.
ReplyDeleteThis looks pretty cool, I especially liked that you can input equations and it will show you what it would look like. Right now I am not sure what it would be used for but I a sure they will improve it and use it for something, just like all the technology out there. I think it would be useful in presentations or architects and what their projects would look like.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that comes to mind after watching this is that perhaps this is a precursor to holographic technology. I'm thinking of "Star Trek" and when the crew goes to the Holodeck where you can physically interact with projections that are not physically there. I think that this technology would have many applications.
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