Researchers have developed a hologram that allows you to reach out and “feel” it — not unlike the holodecks of “Star Trek.” University of Glasgow scientists have created hologram system that uses jets of air known as “aerohaptics” to replicate the sensation of touch, according to Ravinder Daahiya, a researcher who worked on the project.

He said that the air jets can allow you to feel “people’s fingers, hands, and wrists.” The team published a paper of their findings in Advanced Intelligent Systems. “In time, this could be developed to allow you to meet a virtual avatar of a colleague on the other side of the world and really feel their handshake,” he said in his piece for The Conversation.

“It could even be the first steps towards building something like a holodeck.” Similar to previous touch sensory holograms, the aerohaptic system doesn’t require a handheld controller or smart gloves in order to produce the sense of touch. Instead, a nozzle, which is able to respond to the movements of your hand, blows air with an appropriate amount of force onto you.

Daahiya and his team tested this with an interactive projection of a basketball, which he said “can be convincingly touched, rolled and bounced.” “The touch feedback from air jets from the system is also modulated based on the virtual surface of the basketball, allowing users to feel the rounded shape of the ball as it rolls from their fingertips when they bounce it and the slap in their palm when it returns,” he said. READ MORE