Hologram-like device animates objects using ultrasound waves

Unlike Star Wars projection, 3D technology whips polystyrene bead round at high speed

It may not rival the technology found in a galaxy far, far away, but everyone has to start somewhere. Researchers in Sussex have built a device that displays 3D animated objects that can talk and interact with onlookers.

A demonstration of the display showed a butterfly flapping its wings, a countdown spelled out by numbers hanging in the air, and a rotating, multicoloured planet Earth. Beyond interactive digital signs and animations, scientists want to use it to visualise and even feel data.