A team of Japanese researchers said on Thursday it had developed the first 3D television system that allows users to touch, pinch or put images floating in front of them.

“It’s the first time images that can be felt in the air,” said Norio Nakamura, senior scientist of the research team at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology .

“You can have the sense of touch like putting a rubber ball or stretch a sticky rice cake” when you manipulate the images, told a news agency by telephone.

Technology changes the shape of three-dimensional images in response to “touch” with the help of cameras that monitor how they move their fingers, said Nakamura.

It is not known when the technology will be of practical use, but its creators are being used to simulate surgery and video game software that allows players to experience the sensation of holding weapons or sports equipment.

You could even use scanned images to complement the existing realities, “said Nakamura.

Link: via Tech-On