A new method has been discovered that allows contactless manipulation in industries. Developed by scientists at the University of Minnesota, the method uses ultrasound waves to move objects hands-free.
Previously, it was discovered that light and sound waves could manipulate objects. However, those objects have always been smaller than the wavelength of sound or light or on the order of millimeters to nanometers. This new method can move larger objects using the principles of metamaterial physics.
The scientists created a metamaterial pattern that they applied to an object’s surface, allowing them to steer it with sound without touching it.
Ognjen Ilic, senior study author and a professor in the College of Science and Engineering, said, “We have known for a while that waves and light and sound can manipulate objects. What sets our research apart is that we can manipulate and trap much bigger objects if we make their surface a metamaterial surface or a ‘metasurface.'”
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