inFORM Lets Users Manipulate the Real World from a Distance

Nov-15-13 The inFORM Dynamic Shape Display lets users manipulate real-world objects by reaching virtually through a display screen.

Developed by a team at MIT, the inFORM system is able to represent 3D images physically, in real time. The system uses a Kinect sensor to scan bodily movements and recreate the motions on a flat grid of motorized polystyrene pins. The pins are controlled by actuators that shift the pins up to four inches up and down, allowing the remote user to manipulate an object on the pin-lined table top.

Applications for the system range from education to surgical simulations to map making. Video conferencing could also be given a boost of intimacy by allowing remote participants to create a sense of presence and interact physically from a distance.

More Info about this Invention:

[CNET.COM]
[MIT]

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