Takayuki Hoshi

• Ph.D. (Information Science and Technology)
• CRO at Pixie Dust Technologies, Inc.

Applications in chemistry, biology, medicine, and engineering require the large-scale manipulation of a wide range of chemicals, samples, and specimens. To achieve maximum efficiency, parallel control of microlitre droplets using automated techniques is essential. Electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD), which manipulates droplets using the imbalance o...

To develop a new pest control device for greenhouses, we verified the effect of the noncontact force generated by ultrasonic transducers on two small insect pests: the sweet potato whitefly Bemisia tabaci Gennadius and the cotton aphid Aphis gossypii Glover. First, we examined their dispersion behavior in response to the device, and the dispersion...

No PDF available ABSTRACT Acoustic levitation is a non-contact manipulation techniques used in a wide range of fields from biology, physics to medical research. The manipulation of levitated objects can be achieved by controlling the phase of each transducer in a phased array or by using reflective metamaterial. Reflective metamaterial is the acous...

In this paper, a method of rendering aerial haptics that uses an aerodynamic vortex and focused ultrasound is presented. Significant research has been conducted on haptic applications based on multiple phenomena such as magnetic and electric fields, focused ultrasound, and laser plasma. By combining multiple physical quantities; the resolution, dis...

Background: We developed a noncontact low-frequency ultrasound device that delivers high-intensity mechanical force based on phased-array (PA) technology (NLFU-PA). It may aid wound healing because it is likely to associate with lower risks of infection and heat-induced pain than conventional ultrasound methods. We hypothesized that the microdefor...

In this paper, we present an approach to realize the levitation of a small object with an embedded electronic circuit. Luciola is a light-emitting particle with a diameter of 3.5mm and a weight of 16.2mg moving in mid-air. The novelty of this paper is the ultrasonically levitated electronic object powered by resonant inductive coupling. To enable t...

Via holes are drilled for interlayer connection in printed circuit boards (PCBs). PCB needs washing process to remove impurities after being drilled. Water remains in via holes in PCB after the process. For removing water, application of focused ultrasonic waves has been proposed. Previously, it has been pointed out that dewatering success rate dep...

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Rapidly adapting type I (RA-I) mechanoreceptors play an important role in sensing the low-frequency vibration aspects of touch. The structure of the RA-I mechanoreceptor is extremely complex regardless of its small size, limiting our understanding of its mechanotransduction. As a result of the emergence of bioengineering, we previously proposed an...

Body ownership can be modulated through illusory visual-tactile integration or visual-motor synchronicity/contingency. Recently, it has been reported that illusory ownership of an invisible body can be induced by illusory visual-tactile integration from a first-person view. We aimed to test whether a similar illusory ownership of the invisible body...

In this paper, we present an approach to realize the levitation of a small object with an embedded electronic circuit. Luciola is a light-emitting particle with a diameter of 3.5mm and a weight of 16.2mg moving in mid-air in a 10.4cm x 10.4cm x 5.4cm space through acoustic levitation using two 40-kHz 17 x 17 ultrasonic transducer arrays placed face...

The feeling of touch is an essential human sensation. Four types of mechanoreceptors (i.e., FA-I, SA-I, FA-II, and SA-II) in human skin signalize physical properties, such as shape, size, and texture, of an object that is touched and transmit the signal to the brain. Previous studies attempted to investigate the mechanical properties of skin micros...

Top view of dermis part of the 3D ridged model during ramp-and-hold experiment. (a) Displacement profile of solid bar indenter. Distribution of SED at FA-I locations at (b) t = 0.01 s, (c) t = 0.1 s, and (d)t = 2 s. The white square is the range of indenter. (TIF)

Rapid adapting type-I (RA-I) receptor is one type of mechanoreceptors in the human skin. They are believed to be responsible for the detection of stimuli that produce minute skin motion (flutter, slip, microgeometric surface features). The neurophysiological experiments in the paper [J.R. Phillips et al. J. Neurophysiol., Vol. 46, pp. 1192-1203, 19...

We examine Bubble Clouds composed of a bubble cluster for a three-dimensional display. A bubble cluster is flexible in that its shape can be modified and it can float in the air with helium gas confinement of the bubbles. By varying the density of the bubble clusters, we project images onto the bubbles without requiring fog confinement or use of sp...

Aerial manipulation of material objects is fascinating and is used in many performance situations. Many scientific demonstrations and magic shows employ these levitations. Acoustic, magnetic, electric, and superconductive levitation are used in many situations. Adding controllability and increasing the design space of these levitation methods are o...

Aerial haptic feedback is a popular topic in research fields on real-world-oriented interaction, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR). Various methods such as magnetic force, ultrasound, and air vortices have been proposed for this purpose.

Aerial manipulation of material objects is fascinating and is used in many performance situations. Many scientific demonstrations and magic shows employ these levitations. Acoustic, magnetic, electric, and superconductive levitation are used in many situations. Adding controllability and increasing the design space of these levitation methods are o...

We propose a novel method of spatial audio rendering using ultrasound. An ultrasonic phased array generates one or more focal points in air, and they act as point sources of audible sound when the ultrasound waves are modulated. Our sound-point loudspeaker has two major advantages over conventional ultrasound-based sound-beam (superdirectional) lou...

Airborne Ultrasound Tactile Displays (AUTD) are tactile displays that can generate vibrotactile sensation on human skin. Combining an AUTD with a projector-camera system, it is possible to present synchronous visual and haptic stimuli that is physically aligned in the 3D space. To maintain the synchronous sensation as realistic as possible, an accu...

We propose a drawing method to create large-scale pictures in public space. We use a property of anisotropic reflection to show images on the grass field. We created a prototype of roller type device which can control the angle of grass. We observed that our system entertains people in public exhibition.

We introduce Bubble Cloud ---a technology that uses a bubble cluster for displaying images onto a screen. Bubble Cloud projects images onto bubbles without confining a fog and can float in the air by changing an operating condition of the bubble cluster such as altering the size of the bubble. Moreover, the user can modify the display because its s...

Bonding machines suffer from a problem that a wavering disturbance of air occurs due to heaters and decreases the accuracy of vision sensing for tool positioning. Previous solutions use airflow to clear out heated air from the light path or physical/airflow walls to separate heated air from background air. Although these previous solutions have bee...

Meissner corpuscles are the fast adapting type I (FA-I) mechanoreceptor that locates at the dermal papillae of skin. The Meissner corpuscle is well known for its complex structure, consisting of spiral axons, lamellar cells and a collagen capsule. Fluorescent microscopy has become a convenient method for observing the Meissner corpuscle and its inn...

We present a new method of rendering aerial haptic images that uses femtosecond-laser light fields and ultrasonic acoustic fields. In conventional research, a single physical quantity has been used to render aerial haptic images. In contrast, our method combines multiple fields (light and acoustic fields) at the same time. While these fields have n...

The authors and colleagues invented an ultrasound-based noncontact tactile display in 2008 and have been developing this technology since then. It is suitable for gesture input systems and aerial imaging systems because no physical contact is required to provide haptic feedback. An ultrasonic phased array generates a focal point of airborne ultraso...

We present a method of rendering aerial and volumetric graphics using femtosecond lasers. A high-intensity laser excites physical matter to emit light at an arbitrary three-dimensional position. Popular applications can thus be explored, especially because plasma induced by a femtosecond laser is less harmful than that generated by a nanosecond las...

Acoustic levitation is one of interesting effects of ultrasound. Small particles are suspended in the nodes of a standing wave generated between an ultrasonic transducer and a reflector. The author developed an ultrasonic device with a commercially-available electronic hobby kit, which can be also developed in school and home. This device radiates...

Using the focused ultrasound wave for the purpose of removing the residual water in minute hole has been proposed. There are some advantages in dewatering. For example, this method can discharge water as liquid droplet from minute and non-through hole easily. For radiation of ultrasonic wave with strong intensity, an ultrasonic focusing device is a...

Ultrasound-based aerial haptic feedback has been studied these days [Hoshi et al. 2010; Carter et al. 2013; Hasegawa and Shinoda 2013]. Studies on this technology mostly focused on producing contact sensation in air and investigating the characteristics of human tactile sensation. There are a few reports on the quality or metaphor of the produced t...

A novel method is proposed for non-contact measurement of electrostatic charge on a surface using focused impulse ultrasound to excite movement of a charged object. The focused impulse ultrasound is generated by turning the 40 kHz ultrasound signal on/off and a phased-array method using airborne ultrasound transducers. The impulse excitation of the...

In this study, we developed a portable driving system for Diminished Haptics that transforms the haptic textures of real materials by ultrasonic vibration based on a squeeze film effect. A real material is attached on the display area (a square area with 30-mm sides), and its haptic texture is reduced. However, the vibration amplitude is decreased...

We present a method of rendering aerial and volumetric graphics using femtosecond lasers. A high-intensity laser excites a physical matter to emit light at an arbitrary 3D position. Popular applications can then be explored especially since plasma induced by a femtosecond laser is safer than that generated by a nanosecond laser. There are two metho...

An ultrasonic pollination device was developed to achieve effective artificial pollination of strawberries in artificial light type plant factories. A phase array of hundreds of ultrasonic transducers was appropriately controlled and focused on one point in space, and it is possible to generate a force at any position in space. The force was modula...

This paper proposes a new method for measuring haptic surface roughness remotely. Specially, our target is to measure surface roughness of millimeter order. Proposed method consists of two ultrasound transducers. One is for generating ultrasound. Another one is for detecting sound pressure distribution formed by interfering with reflected waves fro...

We previously reported three-dimensional acoustic manipulation. Two opposite ultrasonic phased arrays generate a localized standing wave at an arbitrary position in midair. Submillimeter-sized particles are suspended in the nodes of the standing wave and moved by gradually changing the position of the standing wave. It turned out that the unbalance...

A novel method is proposed for non-contact measurement of static electricity distribution on a surface using focused ultrasound to excite movement of the charge. The focused ultrasound is generated by controlling individually the phases of 285 airborne ultrasound transducers, and it was demonstrated local excitation could be measured. An electric f...

Modern technology development has made the border between life and matter more ambiguous. Studies that find creature-like behavior from inorganic materials are carried out in the field of art and entertainment. On the other hand, it is an important issue to manipulate objects without implanting any actuators directly inside. In this research, we ai...

We have developed a system called UltraSendo that creates a force field in space using an array of ultrasonic transducers cooperatively emitting ultrasonic waves to a focal point. UltraSendo is the first application of this technology in the context of medical training simulators. A face validation study was carried out at a Catheter Laboratory in...

Computer displays play an important role in connecting the information world and the real world. In the era of ubiquitous computing, it is essential to be able to access information in a fluid way and non-obstructive integration of displays into our living environment is a basic requirement to achieve it. Here, we propose a display technology that...

Our research group has worked on an ultrasound-based noncontact tactile display. It utilizes a nonlinear effect of ultrasound to produce a force in midair. It is known that an object in the ultrasound field suffers a force (acoustic radiation pressure) in the direction of the ultrasound propagation. The position of the force is controlled three-dim...

In this study, we demonstrate real-world-oriented computer graphics by using and expanding 3D acoustic manipulation [Ochiai et al. 2014]. An acoustic potential field (APF) is generated and controlled in order to levitate and manipulate small objects (Fig. 2 (a)). Compared to magnetic levitation, air jets, and other noncontact levitation technologie...

Computer displays play an important role in connecting the information world and the real world. In the era of ubiquitous computing, it is essential to be able to access information in a fluid way and non-obstructive integration of displays into our living environment is a basic requirement to achieve it. Here, we propose a display technology that...

We propose a novel graphics system based on the expansion of 3D acoustic-manipulation technology. In conventional research on acoustic levitation, small objects are trapped in the acoustic beams of standing waves. We expand this method by changing the distribution of the acoustic-potential field (APF). Using this technique, we can generate the grap...

Computer displays play an important role in connecting the information world and the real world. In the era of ubiquitous computing, it is essential to be able to access information in a fluid way and non-obstructive integration of displays into our living environment is a basic requirement to achieve it. Here, we propose a display technology that...

Computer displays play an important role in connecting the information world and the real world. In the era of ubiquitous computing, it is essential to be able to access information in a fluid way and non-obstructive integration of displays into our living environment is a basic requirement to achieve it. Here, we propose a display technology that...

We propose a novel graphics system based on the expansion of 3D acoustic-manipulation technology. In conventional research on acoustic levitation, small objects are trapped in the acoustic beams of standing waves. We expand this method by changing the distribution of the acoustic-potential field (APF). Using this technique, we can generate the grap...

In this study, we develop and implement a method for transforming real-world textures. By applying a squeeze film effect to real-world textures, we make haptic textures reduced. This method could transform real-world textures, e.g., from paper-like to metal-like, from wood-like to paper-like, and so on. The textures provided by this system are inhe...

A three-dimensional acoustic manipulation in air is presented. Two arrays of ultrasonic transducers are arranged opposite each other, generating a localized standing wave at an arbitrary position through the phased-array focusing technique. Small particles are suspended in the nodes of the standing wave and also manipulated according to the positio...

This study proposes a noncontact method to provide thermal sensation. It was observed that the plate is heated when slits on a plate are exposed by a high-amplitude ultrasound. There is a possibility to provide thermal sensation remotely by utilizing this phenomenon. Users' motion is not restricted by wires etc. Furthermore, arbitrary positions can...

The essence of levitation technology is the countervailing of gravity. It is known that an ultrasound standing wave is capable of suspending small particles at its sound pressure nodes. The acoustic axis of the ultrasound beam in conventional studies was parallel to the gravitational force, and the levitated objects were manipulated along the fixed...

The development of modern technologies, touch and/or tactile sensors have been well-developed, exploring various possible methods of transduction and available in many commercial products. The demand for more friendly and safe products, such as household robots, is growing up day by day. But the issues of tactile sensors such as wiring and robustne...

We previously developed a display using a soap film as a screen. This screen can display various appearances of the projected images by changing its reflectance property by controlling ultrasound waves. Further, the soap film has other advantages of being very thin and disposable. This research aims to make use of these advantages to realize new in...

Haptics is a complex sensation with pressure, temperature, vibration, and so on. Therefore developing an interface for creating or designing haptic contents is an attractive challenge. One solution is reduction and simplification of the haptic information. For example, Minamizawa et al. have simplified it as a temporal signal (sound) in TECHTILE to...

Our previous research[1] indicates that we can control the reflectance, transparency, and the view angle of the colloidal membrane using ultrasonic waves. The problem was the membrane was rather easy to break. However, in order to widen the view angle and extend the research, the screen is required to withstand powerful ultrasonic waves.

Medical simulators provide a risk-free environment for trainee doctors to practice and improve their skills. UltraPulse is a new tactile system designed to utilise focussed airborne ultrasound to mimic a pulsation effect such as that of a human arterial pulse. In this paper, we focus on the construction of the haptics component, which can later be...

A novel method is proposed for non-contact measurement of the distribution of electrostatic charge on a surface based on scanning the sample surface with a focused high frequency acoustic beam to excite movement of the sample surface. An electric field is induced by exciting a charged film-like object, and an electric field sensor measures it inste...

In the process of developing our ultrasound-based non-contact tactile display, it is needed to check whether the ultrasound is focused as intended. It takes a lot of time to scan a microphone, feeling tactile stimulation by hand lacks spatial resolution, and other conventional visualization methods are not available in our case. This paper proposes...

Medical simulators provide a risk-free environment for trainee doctors to practice and improve their skills. UltraPulse is a new tactile system designed to utilise focussed airborne ultrasound to mimic a pulsation effect such as that of a human arterial pulse. In this paper, we focus on the construction of the haptics component, which can later be...

In this paper, we introduce Haptic-Emoticon, which is used in a text message. It expresses a writer's emotion and/or decorates the message with physical stimulus on a reader's skin. We employ stroking motions for that purpose. The motions are represented as a 2D trajectory so that a writer can create the Haptic-Emoticon with a conventional pointing...

It is difficult to dynamically change the optical properties of ordinary screens. In conventional projection systems, the choice of screens is limited; and the brightness of projected images and the viewing angle are unalterable once a screen is fixed, even though demand for altering the viewing angle according to the locations and the requirements...

This paper introduces a compact device for noncontact interaction. It can push objects from a distance by utilizing focused ultrasound. The maximum output force at the focal point is 16 mN. The position of the focal point can be moved quickly and precisely. The device is small (19×19×5 cm3), light (0.6 kg), and compact so that one can pick it up wi...

Resent researches show a wide application possibility of our product which produces tactile stimulation from a distance by utilizing airborne ultrasound, named as "airborne ultrasound tactile display." In this paper, a portable device of the tactile display is introduced. It is expected that more people can use it easily for wider variety of applic...

This paper describes a novel framework for creation and sharing of a tactile content. Our framework supports a handwriting motion trajectory as a tactile expression. A user can input a trajectory by using conventional pointing input device including a mouse, a touch screen, etc. The trajectory is encoded in an image data and shared through the Twit...

This paper introduces a system which supports text-based online communication by providing non-verbal information. The handwriting motion is transmitted in addition to the appearance of characters and graphics. Our research product, a noncontact tactile display, is used to stimulate the palm from a distance with a fine spatial resolution. The tacti...

This paper reports the development of a portable device of the ultrasound-based noncontact tactile display. The device is small (19×19×5 cm3), light (0.6 kg), and compact so that one can pick it up with one hand and install it at various places. This easy-to-use device is expected to lead to a wide variety of application of the tactile display, whi...

A system is proposed which enables users not only to operate computers by moving their hands in mid-air but also to feel touch feedback on their hands. The system consists of a PC, a markerless hand-tracker for input, and a non-contact tactile display for feedback. The tactile display utilizes ultrasound to produce tactile stimulation from a distan...

A noncontact tactile display is developed in our laboratory, which provides tactile stimulation in midair by utilizing a nonlinear phenomenon of ultrasound; Acoustic radiation pressure. In the previous reports, a single or two arrays of ultrasound transducers are used and the resulting force acts only in one direction. That would limit the applicat...

This paper introduces the system which enables a user not only to interact with a computer by moving one's hand in midair but also to feel touch feedback on one's hand. It would be used as an interface with PCs, games, portable devices, digital signage, and so on. It is also promising in hospitals, food factories, and public spaces. The system cons...

A system is proposed which enables users not only to operate computers by moving their fingers in midair but also to feel touch feedback on their fingers. The system consists of a PC, a marker-less hand tracker for input, and a noncontact tactile display for feedback. The tactile display utilizes ultrasound to produce tactile stimulation from a dis...

The airflow that accompanies the tactile sensation provided by the Airborne Ultrasound Tactile Display is investigated. Due to it, some people report that they feel something like airflow although the display generates steady pressure in midair. There are two possible areas where it arises: The surface of the skin or the pathway along the ultrasoun...

This paper describes a tactile display which provides unrestricted tactile feedback in air without any mechanical contact. It controls ultrasound and produces a stress field in a 3D space. The principle is based on a nonlinear phenomenon of ultrasound: Acoustic radiation pressure. The fabricated prototype consists of 324 airborne ultrasound transdu...

The airflow that accompanies the tactile sensation provided by the Airborne Ultrasound Tactile Display is investigated. Due to it, some people say that they feel something like airflow although the display generates steady pressure in air. We have two ideas what causes it: One is the gradient of pressure distribution and the other is the acoustic s...

For the purpose of sensing subtle nuance of tactile feeling, a human finger is used as a sensor probe in our research. Because "the probe" has the same structure and physical parameters as human fingers, we expect that the vibration on it caused by touch reflects the tactile feeling sensitively. In this paper, a prototype device to measure the vibr...

In this paper, a hologram with tactile reactions is presented. The developed system consists of three components; a holographic display, a hand tracker, and a tactile display. The tactile display, which is our original device, produces force on user's bare hand without any contact by using radiation pressure of airborne ultrasound. It adds the sens...

Mid-air displays which project floating images in free space have been seen in SF movies for several decades [Rakkolainen 2007]. Recently, they are attracting a lot of attention as promising technologies in the field of digital signage and home TV, and many types of holographic displays are proposed and developed. You can see a virtual object as if...

This paper describes a new tactile device which produces stress fields in 3D space. Combined with mid-air and/or 3D stereoscopic displays, this device provides high-fidelity tactile feedback for interaction with visual objects. The principle is based on a nonlinear phenomenon of ultrasound; acoustic radiation pressure. The fabricated prototype devi...

This paper describes a new tactile device which produces stress fields in 3D space. Combined with mid-air and/or 3D stereoscopic displays, this device provides high-fidelity tactile feedback for interaction with visual objects. The principle is based on a nonlinear phenomenon of ultrasound; acoustic radiation pressure. The fabricated prototype devi...

We introduce a novel sensing device named ldquothree-dimensional capture sheet (3DCS).rdquo The cloth-like sheet measures its own 3D shape with no external equipment. It has many potential applications such as 3D modeling, size and shape measurement, wearable motion capture, tactile sensor, and so on. It consists of a lattice structure inside of th...

IncreTable is a tabletop game inspired by the Incredible Machine. It provides a multi-modal interaction based on a bi-directional projection tabletop, digital pens, a depth camera, and custom-made physical objects, while attracting users for an active ...

We introduce a novel sensing device named ldquothree-dimensional capture sheet (3DCS).rdquo The cloth-like sheet measures its own 3D shape with no external equipment. It has many potential applications such as 3D modeling, size and shape measurement, wearable motion capture, tactile sensor, and so on. It consists of a lattice structure inside of th...

A novel cloth-like device is proposed. It measures its own 3D shape in real time by utilizing a large number of minute sensors distributed on it. The shape reconstruction is based on the gravitational and the geomagnetic fields.

In this paper, we introduce a novel sensing device named "3-dimensional capture sheet (3DCS)." The cloth-like sheet measures its own 3D configuration. It consists of a lattice structure inside of the sheet, and each link of the structure has a triaxial accelerometer. Though the roll and pitch angles of the link are calculated from the gravity vecto...

In this paper, we propose a novel sensing device named "3-dimensional capture sheet (3DCS)". The cloth-like sheet measures its own 3D configuration. It consists of a lattice structure inside of the sheet, and each link of the structure has a triaxial accelerometer. The roll and pitch angles of the link are calculated from the gravity vector measure...

We propose a novel sensing device named "3-dimensional capture sheet (3DCS)". The cloth-like sheet measures its own 3D configuration. There is a lattice structure inside of the sheet, and each link of the structure has a triaxial accelerometer. The roll and pitch angles of the link are derived from the gravity vector measured by the accelerometer....

We are developing a novel sensing device named "3-dimensional capture sheet (3DCS) ". The cloth-like sheet measures its own 3D configuration. The sheet enables us to make a soft tactile sensor by wrapping a compressible material in it. The number, shapes, and positions of objects are obtained from the surface deformation of the material. The contac...

In this paper, we introduce a novel sensing device named "three-dimensional capture sheet (3DCS)." The cloth-like sheet measures its own 3D configuration with no external equipments. It has many potential applications such as 3D modeling, entertainment, size and shape measuring, wearable motion capture, tactile sensor, and so on. It consists of a l...

In this paper, we introduce a soft and stretchable robot skin. There are two novel technologies. One is the "cell-bridge system"; a communication system that consists of two dimensional areas called "cells" and signal transmission devices called "bridges". The other is the "nonlinear tactile element"; a sensor element that has a several-centimeter-...

In this paper, we propose a new tactile sensor skin system. The system consists of two components. One is a sensor element which detects a contact area in addition to a contact force. The element is inspired by the fact that humans can discriminate sharpness of objects sensitively on any parts of their bodies in spite of their several-cm Two Point...

We proposed a novel communication system named "cell-bridge system" for sensor networks in the previous INSS workshop. The system consists of two dimensional areas called "cells" and signal transmission devices called "bridges". In this paper, we propose a tactile sensor skin as one of applications of the system. In this application, the cells are...

"Cell-bridge network" is a communication system which consists of two-dimensional areas called "cells" and signal transmission devices called "bridges". In this paper, we propose a tactile sensor skin as one of applications of the system. In this application, the cells are not only communication media but also parts of capacitive tactile sensor ele...