...To the Future

Controlling acoustic fields is crucial in applications as diverse as loudspeaker design, ultrasound imaging and therapy, or acoustic particle manipulation. I will briefly introduce Metasonics — one of the first companies to move acoustic metamaterials from the academic community to commercialised products. As a twist, I will also show you how examples from the world of Marvel and DC comics may become a reality, demonstrating fictional characters that possess the ability to create and/or manipulate sound and how close we are to mimicking this.

Have you ever wanted to see your favourite characters brought to life before your eyes? Scientists have now made this possible. Technology using ultrasound creates levitating arrays of objects, turning miniature multicoloured-spheres into real-life, 3D pixels. This research could revolutionise the gaming industry, the arts and the way we visualise the world. Dr Sahoo is a computer scientist at Swansea University who’s work focuses on the internet of things and the human-computer interaction. His work is at the forefront of modern computing, helping to modernise our world using computers.