Featured on Siggraph 2007

From 7 to 9 August, the annual exhibition of advances in computer graphics technology and visualization Siggraph 2007 took place in San Diego. Traditionally, the most entertaining part of the exhibition is the experimental development section in related areas of technology ( Emerging Technologies section). This is where you can find amazing, albeit meaningless, devices with the most innovative design, which are somewhat beyond the scope of the main specialization of the exhibition. Technological journalist BBC News visited this high-tech reserve and chose the most interesting .

Byu-Byu windscreen
Sometimes there are not enough words for communication, and I want to hear the interlocutor's breath, which you see on the monitor. But how is this possible if you are separated by a computer screen? The Byu-Byu system is designed just for this. This is a screen that broadcasts the interlocutor of air movement. You are blowing on this side - and the interlocutor can feel the breeze if he leans towards the monitor.

Behind the screen there are 64 sensors that capture the strength and direction of the wind. Here are also attached small fans, from which air flows through a thin hose with a controlled plug ( photo ). They can put a gentle breeze in the face of the user or a strong directional flow of air, depending on how much to loosen the cap. In Japanese, “byu-byu” means howling wind. True, there are no howls here, but it sounds beautiful.
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Perhaps the most romantic use of such a screen is the ability to blow out the candles on the cake on your birthday when you are thousands of kilometers from home.

Tactile sensor Freqtric
Another Japanese Freqtric development is the Freqtric tactile sensor. If two partners are clamped on such a sensor in the palms, the system will pick up any contact, no matter what part of the body they touch each other. We have already talked about the erotic version of a similar game. Here the development is more advanced. The technology is based on the fact that human skin transmits current, so that in the case of a contact the power grid closes - and a microdischarge occurs, which is registered by the device.



In principle, such devices can be integrated under the skin of people who are forbidden to touch each other.

Manual weight translator
The device Gravity Grabber was created in order to increase the realism of virtual worlds. Add to them what virtuality is so lacking: gravity. This device translates virtual gravitons offline, that is, it emulates the gravity of small virtual objects.

The device consists of several rings and motors that are put on the fingers. Rotating in different directions, the motors create pressure on the fingers and hand, emulating the weight of virtual objects.

Joystick ball
Another alternative to a mouse, remote control or gaming joystick: Soap manipulator . Ideal for playing at a distance from the screen, standing or lying, holding the ball in one hand.

In fact, the joystick is a modified mouse with the same optical sensor, but covered with a cloth that you need to move and press with your finger. Of all the devices listed, this is the first one created not by the Japanese, but by the Americans from Microsoft Research.

Boots fast walkers
String Walker interface for realistic movement in virtual reality by stomping in special shoes. Each of the "boots-walkers" is tied with four strings to special sensors that capture the movement of shoes and translate them into virtuality. The strings are extremely strong, so that the walker cannot get out of the circle, but is capable of spinning around its axis and making other complex movements: marching, turning the corner, etc. In this regard, the developers even recommend using this simulator for training cadets of the military academy.