Communications of the ACM
Future Tech on Show at 36th Siggraph
Mk Haley, a juror for the Emerging Technologies area of SIGGRAPH 2009, says an ear-tugging navigator is the type of exhibit that will get people thinking and talking. Developed by researchers at the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, the bug-shaped helmet is mounted by six motors that pull on the ears of the wearer, leading the person to follow almost instinctively. "Human beings can really be physically manipulated so easily," Haley says of Pull-Navi. "And what other applications may there be for that?''
Researchers at Montreal's McGill University have created a virtual reality floor that can make it feel like you are walking on snow or ice and also serves as a rehabilitation tool.
Among the other 31 exhibits, the Funbrella, built by a team from Japan's Osaka University, will let the holder feel how heavy a 1-inch-per-hour rain really is or feel rainfall in another town.
ACM's 36th international conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques gets underway in New Orleans on Monday and runs through Friday. SIGGRAPH also offers an animation festival, game design and animation workshops and contests, a studio, an art show, and other showcases and exhibits.
From The Associated Press
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