This Amazing Shapeshifting Display From MIT Will Trip You Out

Reach out and move something from behind a screen.

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This takes "touchscreen" to a whole new level. 

The Dynamic Shape Display created by MIT is made up of actuators, pins, and linkages that move up and down to create a 3D model of something digital. In the video provided MIT, the system (called inFORM) is used by an operator to move a ball around, mimic a basket, move a flashlight, and to morph into the shape of a book. It's pretty cool, and with the help of a projector, the pins can change colors and display images. For future use, MIT says they're looking into medical uses for the technology, like display 3D renderings of CT scans. It can also be used for urban planners when mapping terrain. If you think this is dope now, this is just one step leading to what MIT calls Radical Atoms. First, we move from our traditional way of looking at content on screen to a tactile user interface that allows digital content to break through into the physical realm. From there, we hit Radical Atoms, where all digital information has physical manifestation so that we can directly interact with it in our world.

HELL YEAH. THE FUTURE IS GOING TO BE AWESOME.

 [via MIT]

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