It was developed by a Japanese company for bathroom toilets .. Can hologram technology be used to stop touching surfaces?

Touch screens and self-paying ATMs were a serious problem even before the pandemic;

A 2018 study by London Metropolitan University showed that touch screens in fast food restaurants contain all kinds of unwanted, potentially harmful bacteria.

Now, amid the renewed focus on hygiene due to the Corona pandemic, a Japanese company has unveiled a better solution.

Shizuoka-based company, Murakami, which works in partnership with Parity Innovations, has developed a hologram-based control system for Japanese toilets that can be expanded to include a variety of public uses.

Hologram, or holographic, is an imaging technique that records the light emitted from an object, and then displays it in a way that shows the three dimensions (depth, length, and height) of the object.

According to a Murakami press release, the control panel - called Floating Diagramming Technology, commonly known as FPT - uses a "next generation optical image for floating in the air" technology.

FBT technology allows users to "press" the hologram-like buttons without actually touching the panel, eliminating the need to touch a surface that might be filled with bacteria.

The main features of the "FBT" non-touch system include "an image system floating in the air, which is very bright and clear," and is operated using spatial sensing technology that "narrows the position of the finger in the air using a special algorithm", as Murakami said.

Most importantly, the system is easily customizable, which means that it will likely be "deployed to multiple product applications".

The technology can be used to protect against future outbreaks by promoting hygiene in a wide range of applications, including public toilets, elevators, ATMs, self-exit screens and hospital registration.

The FBT system can be adapted for automated teller machines, elevators and other general use cases.

Murkami is not the first company to offer a solution to the problem of touch screens by creating a hologram screen.

In October 2020, Ultraleap unveiled a screen with a camera, which is controlled using hand gestures.

Murakami announced that it has begun providing samples of the "FBT" system to manufacturers and hospitals for evaluation.

The company expects its technology to be commercially available by 2022.

And that may mean that we will see technology boosting public health efforts in the post-pandemic phase.