Technology has changed rapidly over the last few years with touch feedback, known as haptics, being used in entertainment, rehabilitation and even surgical training. New research, using ultrasound, has developed an invisible 3-D haptic shape that can be seen and felt.

The research paper, published in the current issue of ACM Transactions on Graphics demonstrates how a method has been created to produce 3D shapes that can, be felt in mid-air.

The research could change the way 3D shapes are used. The new technology could enable surgeons to explore a CT scan by enabling them to feel a disease, such as a tumour, using haptic feedback.

Apple's press conference today announced the iPhone 6 (spoilers: It has a curved bezel and more powerful technology and a better camera), the iPhone 6 Plus (spoilers: It's the same as what we just said but with the formfactor of a larger Android phone) and the Apple Watch. Details about the watch are relatively slim. We know it will interact with other Apple devices, have apps, use vibration to alert you of notifications and do nifty things like "tug" you in the direction of a pre-planned route you've mapped out.

But really, we know the killer app is just taping your existing phone to your arm.