Color Textures

In the Color Textures installation, a magical wooden stick contaminates its holder with a curse that modifies the feel of objects and images of the environment. It reveals a parallel world in which dynamic textures are hidden in a colorful world of smooth and silent images and shapes. This installation is based on the Revel Technology.
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While wielding the wooden stick, the user can feel the scale on a smooth painted wooden fish, feel the rough texture of projected sand and bumpy sensation of pebbles while sliding his finger on the table. He can experience the tickling sensation of pine needles on a smooth wooden painted tree. He can also experience different tactile sensations when interacting with a see-through bird house that overlays virtual elements on the physical table.

In our installation, the visitors can feel unexpected artificial sensations on different areas of a physical painting, and feel the texture of paper bugs through the glass of a display case without touching them.
Technical details
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Publications / Exhibitions
REVEL: A Tactile Feedback Technology for Augmented Reality. O. Bau, I. Poupyrev, M. LeGoc, L. Galliot and M. Glisson. 2012. SIGGRAPH'12 Emerging Technologies. [ACM]
More information and video coming soon
Team and Credits
The Color Textures installation was designed and developed with Laureline Galliot (Design), Mathieu Le Goc (Electrical Engineering) and Matthew Glisson (Mechanical Engineering) at Disney Research in Pittsburgh, PA.
Selected Press
BBC Focus Magazine. Touchy-feely technology. October 2012. MIT Technology Review. Disney Researchers Add Virtual Touch to the Real World. August 9, 2012. Wired. Electrical fields passed through the body generate virtual textures. August 10, 2012. Engadget. Disney's REVEL could turn the whole world into a tactile touchscreen. August 10, 2012. Gizmodo. Using Electrical Charge to Make the World Feel Different. August 9, 2012. Creative Applications. Disney Researchers Augment Touch Sensation with REVEL. August 9, 2012.