OpenMPD: A Low-Level Presentation Engine for Multimodal Particle-Based Displays

Abstract

Phased arrays of transducers have been quickly evolving in terms of software and hardware with applications in haptics (acoustic vibrations), display (levitation) and audio. Most recently, Multimodal Particle-based Displays (MPDs) have even demonstrated volumetric content that can be seen, heard, and felt simultaneously, without additional instrumentation. However, current software tools only support individual modalities and they do not address the integration and exploitation of the multimodal potential of MPDs. This is because there is no standardized presentation pipeline tackling the challenges related to presenting such kind of multi-modal content (e.g., multi-modal support, multi-rate synchronization at 10 KHz, visual rendering or synchronization and continuity). This paper presents OpenMPD, a low-level presentation engine that deals with these challenges and allows structured exploitation of any type of MPD content (i.e., visual, tactile, audio). We characterize OpenMPD’s performance and illustrate how it can be integrated into higher-level development tools (i.e., Unity game engine). We then illustrate its ability to enable novel presentation capabilities, such as support of multiple MPD contents, dexterous manipulations of fast-moving particles or novel swept-volume MPD content.

Acoustophoretic in situ 3D fabrication of multi-material and porous structures

“…Acoustophoretic system: The core of AcoustoFab's functionality resides in its phased array of transducers (PAT), which is a grid-like arrangement of 16 × 16 transducers adapted from an open hardware model outlined in reference 48 . Each transducer (HongChang Electronic, HC10T-40TR-P) in this array has a diameter of 10 mm and operates at a consistent frequency of 40 kHz, delivering ~8.1 Pa at 1m distance when driven at 20 Vpp.…”

“…We implemented our new solver using OpenCL similarly to the solvers (e.g., GS-PAT 49 or IBP 27 ) implemented in the OpenMPD platform 48 so that ours also can be integrated into this open platform to fully utilize the standardized update engine and driver. This engine facilitates the creation of levitation traps and focal points along specific manipulation paths while ensuring a constant update rate of the PAT boards (e.g., 10,000 updates per second).…”

Optical fiber-based acoustic intensity microphone for high-intensity airborne ultrasound measurement

“…These technologies have a wide range of applications, as evidenced by recent studies. [1][2][3][4][5] For instance, innovations such as highly directional speakers, [6][7][8] non-contact tactile feedback, [9][10][11] threedimensional acoustic levitation and manipulation, [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] graphics on a carpet, 20) artificial pollination, 21) insect pest control, 22) wound healing acceleration, 23) hair regrowth, 24) horizontally omnidirectional audible sound source, 25) and non-destructive testing 26) showcase the potential of high-intensity ultrasonic applications. Notably, the exploration of acoustic holography based on phased arrays has become increasingly prominent, leading to sophisticated sound field control.…”

Effects and selection of update rates in acoustic levitator

“…They further employed phased-array-based acoustic tweezers to trap and manipulate the engineering bacteria in the vasculature of live mice. Up to now, many researchers have realized volumetric display by manipulating particles at high speed using a phased array [24][25][26][27].…”