Revel and AR working together (via Disney Research)
Disney’s ambitions have taken an intriguing turn concerning its ventures into the technology sector over making pseudo-adult oriented animated films. One piece of technology Disney’s researchers are developing is their Revel wearable tactile/haptic touch display, which doesn’t require the use of specialized gloves. Disney’s design makes use of reverse electro-vibration, which sends a weak oscillating electrical field over the wearer’s entire body that creates a variable sensation, such as friction, in the fingertips. According to the researchers ‘touching a physical object that has the common electrical ground as the Revel provides an electrostatic force modulation between the finger and corresponding object (that’s a conductor with a thin insulator skin) that creates a sensation of texture.'
The researchers designed the Revel using an Atmel ATmega 328 micro-controller (8-bit AVR RISC-based) as the devices mainboard with a 12-bit DAC to generate a low-amplitude signal that is emitted through the Revel’s outer casing. Different signal shapes are stored in the micro-controllers flash memory (32Kb ISP) which is independently controlled through an on-board Bluetooth module (for a variety of haptic feedback). The Revel amplifies a 5V signal using a flyback transformer circuit to create a high-voltage DC (with out-put limited to 150 uA) which it grabs from the devices 3.7V lithium-ion polymer battery. The device incorporates a Microsoft Kinect to track finger movement as well as object identification on the devices AR display which is then modulated for tactile sensations (depending on the area of the object being touched) using a computer which communicates with the Revel over a Bluetooth connection (so it’s not exactly portable).
The company states that this technology can be implemented into additional AR interfaces. Books for example, which could be identified by the texture of its cover, or provide ‘tactile guidance’ by outfitting surfaces (such as walls) with metalized paint that could help the vision impaired navigate areas more easily. Why touch a real fish, when you can simulate it?
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