(Left) A face getting squished by the Keio University's rolling pin. (Right) It does not roll like a regular kitchen tool, but houses a series of rollers and sensors to track what the user wants to do. (via Keio University)
Have you ever felt like smashing someone’s face? Here is yet another application for Microsoft’s Kinect camera that may virtually satisfy that kind of daydream.
A team of researchers lead by Yasuaki Kakehi from Keio University used the shape and image information collected by the Kinect to create a virtual image that can be felt, squished and distorted with the help of a specialized mechanical roller.
The setup looks like this: a Kinect camera is position above the object to be “rolled,” then the image appears on a horizontal screen upon which the specialized robotic roller deforms and squishes it virtually.
The Kinect can detect the convex or concave shape of an object, which can then be converted to the appropriate roller resistance that provides the user haptic feedback. To create this virtual touch sensation, five sets of roller are housed inside of what looks like an old-fashioned wooden roller.
As the apparatus moves over the image on the flat screen, cranks move each set of rollers down to touch the screen at precise locations and pressures to match the image and shape. The friction of the rollers on the screen creates the illusion of material resistance.
The virtual haptic feeling of resistance changes as the image is distorted just as a piece of dough would provide less resistance as it flattens out. The image itself also becomes stretched out and after the user is done modifying the image; it can be printed out as a souvenir.
This system could also be used for deforming stationary or non-deformable bodies while replacing them with symbols or characters. Games that make use of the haptic feedback could also be developed. Nevertheless, I can think of a couple stress relieving applications myself.
Via Diginfo:
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