VOA常速英语2015--科学家们创造可触摸的虚拟影像（在线收听）

Scientists Create 'Touchable' Virtual Objects 科学家们创造可触摸的虚拟影像

Technology is already capable of tricking most of our senses ... laser holography can create three-dimensional images where nothing exists, stereo sound can surround us, and smells can be infused into the air. Now, scientists are starting to break the next barrier - the sense of touch.

Scientists at a British university have developed a device that makes our hands feel objects that are not there.

Motion recognition technology already allows users to command computer-controlled devices by waving a hand above a sensitive surface. But feeling the actual object, such as the car radio’s tuning button, would give us more feedback, making the motion more precise.

动作识别技术已使得用户能够通过挥手对电脑控制的设备下达命令。但感觉如汽车收音机调谐钮等的实际物体将会给我们更多反馈,使得动作更加精确。

Researchers at the University of Bristol’s Computer Science Department have developed a device that adds tactile sensation to a holographic image.

布里斯托尔大学计算机科学系的研究人员已经研发出一种将触感增加到全息图像上的设备。

Co-developer of the technology, Sriram Subramanian, said it works on the same principle as the pressure of soundwaves you feel in your chest at a rock concert.

协助进行技术研发的斯拉姆·萨勃拉曼尼亚表示它的工作原理相同，你感受到胸腔的声波压力时就好像正在上演一场摇滚音乐会。

“Instead of using the bass sounds, what we use is low-frequency ultrasound - about 40 kHz - and that way we can target it at a precise point on your fingertip or on your palm, and then you feel the palm vibrate and it feels precise as well,” said Subramanian.

“我们没有使用低音,而是使用40千赫的低频超声波，这样我们可以将它在你的指尖或手掌上定位到一个精确的点,而后你会感到手掌振动而且感觉同样精确。”

The soundwaves are emitted by an array of 64 small ultrasonic speakers, whose vibrations can be adjusted to create sensation of various shapes, and even their virtual movement.

这些声波是通过一排64个小型超声波扬声器发出,振动可以进行调整从而创造各种形状的感觉,甚至自身的虚拟运动。

Subramanian said the speakers can create hundreds of ultrasound focal points.

萨勃拉曼尼亚表示这些扬声器可以创造数以百计的超声波焦点。

“And when I do hundreds at a time and put a hundred focal points around your fingertip or around your palm, those hundred feel like a circle," he said. "And if I track your palm and move them up and down, and if I change the diameter of these focal points, you start feeling like you are going through a sphere. And this is how we generate shapes.”

“当我一次产生数百下的震动,这些声波焦点会围绕在你的指尖或掌心,感觉就像一个圆。如果我跟踪你的手掌并上下移动,如果我改变这些焦点的直径,你就会感觉自己好像正经过一个球体。这就是我们创造形状的原理。”

Subramanian said when it is fully developed, the so-called haptic technology may find application in various fields, from consumer electronics and home appliances to hospital operating rooms.

萨勃拉曼尼亚表示研发完成后,这种触觉技术可能会应用在从消费电子，家用电器再到医院手术室的各个领域。