Researchers using waves to write on water

Liquid-based displays are nothing new -- in a vertical orientation, at least -- but apparently it's a lot more difficult to coax a standing pool of water into forming recognizable shapes and characters. In fact, before coming up with their current design, researchers at Japan's Akishima Laboratories were only able to get poorly-formed letters to pop up once every 15 minutes in their first stab at using waves to "print" on the surface of a specially-built pool. Their second attempt, however -- developed with Professor Shigeru Naito of Osaka University -- addresses both major flaws by using formulas known as Bessel functions to cut the processing time down to between 15 and 30 seconds and form characters with straight lines. The 30-centimeter deep, kiddie pool-sized device employs 50 generators operating in unison to produce cylindrical waves that behave like pixels, giving it the ability to display the entire roman alphabet as well as a number of kanji characters. Eventually this technology could be combined with music and lighting effects to create multimedia attractions at hotels or theme parks, but until they can speed up the letter formation even more (and maybe toss in some video), we don't see any real practical applications here. Readers?

[Via Pink Tentacle]

[Brian @ Jul 25th 2006 12:53PM]

Maybe the Bellagio in Las Vegas could incorporate this into their water show. Speed could be an issue, but maybe a countdown in the water pool showing the time until the next show could work. Just as a novelty.

[Rob @ Jul 25th 2006 12:55PM]

Vegas, baby, Vegas!

[anon @ Jul 25th 2006 12:58PM]

That's nothing new. I have a special pen that can write my name in my tiolet bowel water.




(this is a first comment? tiolet humor?)

[lankysob @ Jul 25th 2006 1:04PM]

Baby, we're gonna be up five hundy by midnight!

[RWD fan @ Jul 25th 2006 1:06PM]

Maybe they could do this with other liquids, perhaps epoxies that harden during the process to produce lettering or moulds for lettering (or other graphics). It would be neat to design a boat design, render it in this fashion, near immediately, and have a prototype mould for a hull in close to no time compared with the current process.

[Ladderless @ Jul 25th 2006 1:08PM]

If you poured a resin on the surface and let it harden, would you create an imprint of the wave?

Could this be used as a rapid-prototyping method for flatter, larger items? A faster alternative to vacuum forming?

[n8diggity @ Jul 25th 2006 1:09PM]

I'd like to see a video of this thing in action. Outside of entertainment, I don't see a usefull application.

[JOn @ Jul 25th 2006 1:13PM]

I've been doing the letter "O" since i was little.

[Z @ Jul 25th 2006 1:13PM]

Big deal. I can write cursive by fartin' in the tub.

[Z @ Jul 25th 2006 1:18PM]

(Btw, my comment was directed to the article, not you, Jon). :)

I just "wrote" that in water, too.

I'm out. Back to Taco Bell...

[brem @ Jul 25th 2006 1:20PM]

I'd like to watch the video of it.

[Patricia Miller @ Jul 25th 2006 1:36PM]

Think a Nike swoosh before the start of the Olympic 100 meter relay would tempt anyone? Serious dineros in that kind of sponsorship...

[iptydafu @ Jul 25th 2006 1:39PM]

If you assigned each splash bar to a separate ship, made them gigantic, and sailed them out to cover a large area; you could send dirty messages to the international space station.

[diulei @ Jul 25th 2006 1:42PM]

Pretty cool. I do see companies (and casinos) paying millions for a perfected machine.

[oQ-0 @ Jul 25th 2006 1:48PM]

Three words: ... ads in toilets ...

[CharlieX @ Jul 25th 2006 1:50PM]

The Abyss - the new ride at Universal Studios.

[thedvs01 @ Jul 25th 2006 1:53PM]

The best use of this that I can think of would be a water clock. 15-30 seconds between character refreshing is plenty of time for a clock to change the minute value.

[Spyvie @ Jul 25th 2006 2:18PM]

The research could lead to a better understanding of manipulating all kinds of waves. Maybe someday we will see true 3D holographic projections.

[Jeff @ Jul 25th 2006 2:20PM]

I agree with the 1st post. Just imagine hundred of tourists standing in front a pool just to watch it spell out B-E-L-L-A-G-I-O ~

[blackfeather @ Jul 25th 2006 2:28PM]

CharlieX beat me to it, but this looks like NTI technology...

[K MAN @ Jul 25th 2006 2:30PM]

their website is in japanese, and the letter that's showing is an english "S."

i'm betting it takes about three hours to produce a japanese letter with all their sqigglies.

just found it funny.

but very interesting work never the less.

[Will @ Jul 25th 2006 2:38PM]

Two words, Fusion Reactor.

[Raven @ Jul 25th 2006 2:52PM]

Japanese Hiragana and Katakana are very simple strokes, its when you get to chinese that will be the problem, but i see they have allready "a number of kanji characters" (chinese letters) which is promising seeing as they are so complicated

[teo @ Jul 25th 2006 2:56PM]

it looks like single letters only for all the generators? I doubt the feasibility of being able to put 7 kiddie pool circles in the Belagio pool to make a word all at once. And if it's not all at once, what happens when you take your eye off the pool? You don't know what they're spelling.

[Pete @ Jul 25th 2006 3:09PM]

Who needs LCD, LED, OLED or even CRT, when you've got H2O?

[rickm @ Jul 25th 2006 3:23PM]

Three words: ... ads in toilets ...

Yeah, whenever I see a skidmark I think "Taco Bell!"

[DarkFader @ Jul 25th 2006 3:30PM]

They should make this much bigger.
Happy surfin' :)

[Jim @ Jul 25th 2006 3:33PM]

That's nothing. I've been writing letters in (frozen) water - snow - since I was a kid. Don't eat yellow snow!

[Whiplash @ Jul 25th 2006 3:40PM]

Ads in toilets... that's funny!

But check this out, you know how they print that little fly inside stand up urinals for you to aim at? We could create similar "tagets" this way! Now we get to play two ways, and even women can join in the fun!

[_man1c_ @ Jul 25th 2006 4:00PM]

shrink the technology and make some type of water writing device. maybe bout a size of a ebook reader. that way paper could actually become obsolete, and we can save our trees.

[toodaloo @ Jul 25th 2006 4:05PM]

I wonder if they can make this work with a tub of Jello.

[Mark Dayer @ Jul 25th 2006 4:15PM]

Of course why limit thinking to water. Use other materials in other states and you've got true 3d displays.

[oldCrock @ Jul 25th 2006 4:34PM]

Build it into a highball glass and give a whole new meaning to "it's just the liquor talking."

[KK @ Jul 25th 2006 4:44PM]

Write on water? How about walking on water? Wait, I think I read about somebody doing that before.

[Jaime M. @ Jul 25th 2006 5:27PM]

Eventually, maybe they could get the waves to take the shapes of ficional monsters who would "swallow" little kids at the pool. mean joke, i know...but funny nonetheless.

Could be great for Universal Studios or something.

[Dan @ Jul 25th 2006 6:43PM]

Strikes me as the first step toward controlling water, ala The Abyiss

[Jay @ Jul 25th 2006 7:08PM]

I know some people with cancer and/or other now-incurable diseases that would love to spell their name in water.

[josh @ Jul 25th 2006 7:25PM]

I don't think most people appreciate how hard this was to do. Anyone who has taken/studied physics would know this was no easy feat.

[Christian @ Jul 25th 2006 7:36PM]

This would be important if it's visible far away enough to see you write SOS when you're trap floating somewhere?

[Angus McDonald @ Jul 25th 2006 7:53PM]

Once they have liquids down pat, can they duplicate the results in gasses? Perhaps this could help skywriters manufacture signs from existing cloud formations?

[dseguin @ Jul 25th 2006 10:55PM]

If one can control conformational waves in a ripple tank, one is en route to controlling wave forms in other media, including 3-D radiation in cancer therapy. One could create sound proof areas in areas of high noise, or diminish chop in a harbour. Using computers and emitters, this technology could have tremendous economic benefit for those who are willing to look beyond the trivial.

[T @ Jul 26th 2006 2:07AM]

And I thought designs in salt with soundwaves was cool

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3938279897122159352

[Hardware @ Jul 26th 2006 2:20AM]

What if you could store info in water... How about an ocean as a hard drive? Pacifibytes!

[ceel @ Jul 26th 2006 6:10AM]

Having your television set OSD tell you when you have an incoming call is sooooo 2004. Hook this baby up in a glass, add some bluetooth and let your beer spill the beans for you.

[Huw @ Jul 26th 2006 7:30AM]

how about uncannily similar stargate mockups.

[Andres @ Jul 26th 2006 8:23AM]

Do you imagine what will happen if this thing gets to nano stadium? Water can cotnain so much information, if we'll live to see, it could be for HDD in the future.

[Justin @ Jul 26th 2006 9:05AM]

Force fields.

If you can manipulate water to hold certain forms and shapes, that means you can create, on a somewhat limited scale, static energy into something that isn't solid. Air or gas is the next logical step.

I have no idea what I just said.

[Danny Bee @ Jul 26th 2006 9:41AM]

Wow the comments on Engadget are so intelligent! I think the comments on this one article may have put me off reading comments on stories within Engadget all together.

[cnpalmer @ Jul 26th 2006 9:57AM]

Come on, you know the guys at engadget would drool to see the little e)) logo in a pool of water.

[rex @ Jul 26th 2006 10:35AM]

i think it will become one of those "PERFECT" way to propose to your "one"...ah well, so much for bending on one knee...