The company behind a multi-point, midair haptic feedback system using ultrasound to add sensation to holographic representation has just received a round of seed funding toward further development of their futuristic responsive interface design.

Like something straight out of Star Trek (or Iron Man or Minority Report), the ‘haptic holograms’ of UltraHaptics use sound waves to create highly-localized pressure on the skin, which, coupled with a visual display, gives physical feedback and resistance.

In principle, we are already used to ‘feeling’ sound when it comes through loud speakers at a concert or movie, but this represents a much more focused version of that same phenomena, applied to virtual and augmented reality.

Potential applications abound, from immersive gaming to interactive virtual medical examinations – haptic feedback is also only one side of the equation: picture a holographic controller that responds to your movements as well as resisting them in realtime, letting you know the action has been acknowledged. New funding will help the company pursue further prototypes, improving precision and computing power along the way.

More on how it works: “Professor Sriram Subramanian, who co-developed the haptic technology at the University of Bristol’s Computer Science Department, explained that their device applies the principles of acoustic radiation force, whereby sound waves produce forces on the skin which are strong enough to generate tactile sensations. One of the advantages of having a touchless system is that the interaction comes to you; instead of going and touching the light switch, you just wave your hand and the light comes on. And this is going to be ubiquitous, and as it becomes ubiquitous people are going to need this kind of tactile feedback.”

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The term “tractor beam” (a shortened form of “attractor beam”) was first used by a sci-fi writer in 1931. It describes a force-emitting object that draws other objects closer to it through some futuristic force. The fictional technology was used liberally in the Star Trek universe.

Ever since then, scientists have tried to make the tractor beam a real thing in many different ways. Researchers at Australian National University have created a water-based tractor beam that comes closer to the storied technology than we’ve ever seen before. The method works by creating different types of waves to control the movement of objects on top of the water.

The Australian tractor beam can move objects toward or away from the source of the waves, or cause it to stay stationary in the water. The waves are complex and three-dimensional, causing distinctive flow patterns on the water’s surface. These flow patterns are changed to control the movement of the object on the water.

The funny thing is that, although most of us have been making this type of wave in the bathtub since we were kids, the mathematics behind the currents haven’t yet been explained. Scientists don’t really know how the whole water tractor beam thing works, only that it produces reliable results.

Although it might seem like a fun experiment without much potential for common use, the tractor beam could be a huge benefit for the world’s oceans. It could be used to clean up sea junk and even to separate an oil spill from the underlying water for the purposes of a clean-up effort. The ANU research was published in the August 2014 edition of Nature Physics.

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