Midair

Midair is a true account of one of the most remarkable tales of survival in the history of aviation – a midair collision at 30,000 feet by two bomb-laden B-52s over a category 5 super typhoon above the South China Sea during the outset of the Vietnam War. Authored by Craig K. Collins, the nephew of B-52 pilot Maj. Don Harten, Midair is an historically important work that is about more than survival. Interwoven through Harten’s dramatic story of his million-to-one struggle against near-certain death is a previously unexamined look at how America had developed an aerial battle plan that would likely have ended the Vietnam conflict in under a month during the late winter of 1965. Instead, the country’s war planners and politicians veered off course and into a bloody eight-year quagmire. Harten was on the February 1965 top-secret mission – a massive B-52 bombing raid of railways, supply depots, and airfields in and around Hanoi – that was called off in mid-flight. That mission and battle plan was mothballed until Dec. 18, 1972, when it was dusted off and dubbed Linebacker II, effectively ending the war within a week. Over 120 B-52s bombed Hanoi-area military installations for eight consecutive days. As a result of the heavy bombing, the North Vietnamese declared a truce, attended peace talks in Paris in early January and signed the Paris Peace Accords, ending hostilities in Vietnam on Jan. 27, 1973. It is the gripping tale of a young Air Force officer’s first combat mission that instantly pulls the reader in and never lets up.

Over the last decade, ultrasound mid-air haptic technology has emerged and rapidly advanced to engage multidisciplinary scientific communities within and adjacent to the haptics and HCI fields. Additionally, this haptic technology has been adopted by a number of industry sectors (e.g., automotive, virtual reality, digital signage, neuroscience research) who appear keen to exploit its unique value proposition: the ability to deliver rich haptic sensations from a distance, without the need to touch, wear or hold anything in order to enhance touchless interfaces, novel applications, and experiences. This book is the first, and currently the only one, that provides a comprehensive description of the technology, encapsulating almost all aspects relating to electronic prototyping, acoustics, haptics, psychology and perception, user experience and end-user HCI applications. Through its 18 chapters written by 30 expert co-authors, this book is therefore an excellent introduction to the technology for anyone coming from any of those fields. Specifically, the reader will benefit by getting a unique and multi-dimensional perspective on the state-of-the-art of this enabling haptic technology while also understanding its history, relevant best research practices, and an overview of the various open challenges and opportunities.