While current cutting-edge 3D TVs help turn flat images into an experience that has depth and distance, it is often not enough to create truly compelling viewing, explained the researchers. 

 

Instead, the team based at the University of Sussex in Brighton is developing a system that uses bursts of air to stimulate¹ different parts of the hand. 

 

Separate regions of the hand have been linked with generating certain emotions - although the emotion triggered can depend on the location and force of the touch, for example. 

 

The device being developed in Brighton, built by electronics firm Ultrahaptics, takes advantage of this research to touch hands in a way that conveys a range of emotions from happiness and sadness to excitement or fear. 

 

It works by using ultrasound speakers to produce a flow of air that can be transmitted to a person's skin. 

 

By using short sharp bursts of air to the area around the thumb, index finger and middle part of the palm to generate excitement, for example. To create sad feelings, the air is used to create a slow and moderate stimulation² of the outer palm and the area around the 'pinky'. 

 

The group is now starting to develop similar technology that exploits our sense of smell and taste. 

 

The result would be a 9D TV that combines vision, sound, touch, smell and the five tastes - sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami.

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