I always wondered whether ultrasound devices were not explored due to production/cost issues or for some other reason. Years ago (pre-iPhone) I wanted to do passive user recognition on a touchscreen music product because some Polish researchers showed it was possible to image fingerprints well enough for recognition with ultrasound sensors placed around the bezel. Why carry RFID or depend on BT or something external when you can do it internally without any configuration? Maybe someone knows more about actual manufacturing of ultrasound tech...
I would guess that it requires a phased array of transducers, and that the signal processing requirements are hugely compute intensive. Until recently, that would have been a non-starter because of cost.
Whatever happened to Google's "Project Soli", which did this with millimeter radar? Dev kits are supposed to be available in Fall 2016, so this should be out Real Soon Now.
As I read it, that technology doesn't provide haptic feedback, it just tracks gestures.
Agreed. But in combination with this, you could have the best of both worlds - I suspect Soli would read a much finer level of detail than anything ultra sound would, but this should give the haptic feedback that Soli lacked.
Apart from the usecases mentioned in the article, this could have interesting applications in sterile environments such as operating theatres and clean-rooms. Another fairly obvious application is virtual and augmented reality. For more traditional computer set-ups I see it falling more into the Leap Motion camp where it might not add a lot of value.
Summary: "...[T]he technology uses a complex suite of algorithms and an array of ultrasound emitters to produce the sensation of touch. Critically, unlike other haptic control systems, the technology enables users to receive tactile feedback without needing to wear or touch anything physical, and has recently been awarded a patent for the innovation."
Surprised about the patent, ultrasound had a bazillion patents in the 90s. That said, in cars the impact on dogs was always a problem. Even if the base frequency didn't bother them, harmonic resonances in the passenger compartment would