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| punychicken |
 Posted: 29-10-2002 18:20 Post subject: Shake Hands Via Internet |
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yahoo story on a 5,000km handshake (fnarr fnarr)
"LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists in Britain and the United States will try to shake hands on Tuesday.
No big deal one might think -- only they will be 5,000 km (3,000 miles) apart, using the Internet to connect them.
In a technological first, they will use pencil-like devices called phantoms to recreate the sense of touch across the Atlantic, organizers of the experiment said.
The phantoms send small impulses at very high frequencies down the Internet using newly developed fiber optic cables and extremely high bandwidths.
When a scientist in London prods a screen with the phantom, the sensation should be felt by a colleague in Boston, and vice versa.
"Pushing on the pen sends data representing forces through the Internet that can be interpreted by a phantom and therefore felt on the other end," said Mel Slater, Professor of Computer Science at University College London (UCL).
"You can not only feel the resulting force, but you can also get a sense of the quality of the object you're feeling -- whether it's soft or hard, wood-like or fleshy."
UCL will conduct the experiment on Tuesday with colleagues from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (news - web sites) (MIT).
Two scientists -- one in London and one in Boston -- will try to pick up a cube between them and move it, each responding to the force the other exerts on it.
The secret behind the technology is the speed at which the successive impulses are sent -- up to 1,000 Hertz," UCL said in a statement.
"In much the same way that the brain re-interprets still images into moving pictures, the frequencies received by the phantom are similarly integrated to produce the sense of a continuous sensation," it said.
The implications of the experiment could be vast, said UCL, which describes the event as the world's "first transatlantic handshake over the Internet."
If successful, it could allow people to touch and feel each other over the Internet."
<perv>TOUCH AND FEEL!
Finally! I also saw a story on how companies must try and target broadband at the right market to push the uptake further. They did suggest families, but sod the families!
"You can feel the difference with acme broadband...." mmmmm </perv> |
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| Anonymous |
| Posted: 29-10-2002 19:00 Post subject: |
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| Article is annoyingly vague. Sounds interesting, but from the article I don't get how the device works. Googled a bit but can't find anything specific. I'll look later... |
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| Spookyangel Anonymous lurker Age: 41 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 29-10-2002 20:05 Post subject: Re: Shake Hands Via Internet |
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| punychicken wrote: |
"You can not only feel the resulting force, but you can also get a sense of the quality of the object you're feeling -- whether it's soft or hard, wood-like or fleshy." |
So how do I join in? It sounds like fun.   |
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| Anonymous |
| Posted: 29-10-2002 22:13 Post subject: |
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| ghost dog wrote: |
Ahh, another sex toy innovation. how long before the first transatlantic handjob? |
Well if this thing actually works, sooner than we think. |
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| Anonymous |
| Posted: 30-10-2002 04:19 Post subject: |
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what's so unpleasant about a hand job, anywho?
i'm surprised this technology wasn't completeed sooner. i wonder what the actual tactile interface is like |
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| rynner Location: Still above sea level Gender: Male |
| Posted: 30-10-2002 08:18 Post subject: |
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| synthwerk wrote: |
what's so unpleasant about a hand job, anywho? |
[Puts on Asian accent from 'Goodness Gracious Me!']
"I can do that at home for nothing!"
Amusing as those internet sex toys seem, it still seems a bit promiscuous, the way they promote it. But if you know someone well enough to trust them with handling your naughty bits at long range, I suppose it could have its uses. Partners who have to spend long periods apart might be less likely to be unfaithful, for example.
How long before some do-gooder starts campaigning for all convicts and their spouses to be issued with this equipment?  |
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| Anonymous |
| Posted: 30-10-2002 08:42 Post subject: |
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| All very good, but will you be able to slap people via the internet? |
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| Anonymous |
| Posted: 30-10-2002 11:44 Post subject: |
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Followup article posted in Ananova
| Quote: | Touching breakthrough for scientists
British and American scientists have greeted each other in the first virtual transatlantic handshake over the internet.
Professor Mel Slater from University College London made tactile contact with his Boston-based counterpart, Dr Mandayam Srinivasan, despite being 3,000 miles apart.
They picked up a computer-generated cube between them and moved it back and forth, each responding to the force the other exerted on it.
The technology allowed the pair to feel whether the other was pushing or pulling the object in a shared virtual world.
The feeling of touch came through a pencil like device called a Phantom which sends small impulses at very high frequencies down the internet.
In the same way that the brain reinterprets still images into moving pictures, the frequencies received by the Phantom are integrated to produce a continuous sensation.
Prof Slater, a virtual reality expert who developed the technology, said: "You cannot only feel the resulting force, but you can also get a sense of the quality of the object you're feeling - whether it's soft or hard, wood-like or fleshy."
The Phantom could help train surgeons perform operations via the internet, he said. Designers, artists and architects could also use it to develop manual skills needed in their professions.
"It enhances the sense of being together even though the physical distances involved are vast."
But long range touching is unlikely to be common on home computers for at least five years because of the high-speed networks it requires to minimise delay.
Story filed: 22:48 Tuesday 29th October 2002
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The information is pretty much verbatim from the original article but the gist is that the experiment was a success. |
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caroleaswas Diva Mentalis Joined: 01 Aug 2001 Total posts: 4607 Age: 8 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 30-10-2002 14:46 Post subject: |
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And I thought it was a late April Fool joke . . .
Carole |
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