Between Wiimotes and rumble packs, one thing seems for certain: Players are looking at any option possible to get more into their games. A team of Japanese researchers are looking at the next step in immersive gaming, and it just may be ultrasound. The technology adds a sense of tactile feedback to games, without the use of gloves or other devices.

And, of course, they're looking to commercialize on it as soon as humanly possible.

Takayuki Iwamoto and other University of Tokyo researchers have discovered that the technology can be used to create focal points that are perceived as solid objects. According to the BBC:

The team's prototype system includes a camera which tracks the position of a user's hand and shifts the output from the transducers to move the focus around with the hand. The result is a feeling of tracing the edge or surface of the virtual object. At the moment, the system provides a small force only in the vertical dimension, but the team is improving the geometry of the array and the amount of power it can produce so that future devices will provide a stiffer feel and more contoured objects.

The researchers are attempting to harness the technology without risking the potential ear damage that may come with it.