Communications of the ACM
Touch and Go: Fondling the Digital World
Disney Research Laboratory researcher Ivan Poupyrev
Credit: fitc.com
A new generation of touchscreens on the brink of commercialization use tactile illusions to trick the brain into feeling texture, and could transform how users interact with the digital world.
Disney Research Laboratory researcher Ivan Poupyrev has used electrovibration perceptual illusion to make a touch panel with artificial textures that could eventually be installed in a wide variety of electronic devices.
Meanwhile, Northwestern University researchers have developed a method to recreate forces on flat glass, specifically those felt when sliding a finger across physical buttons. The researchers developed LateralPad, which uses vibrations at 22,000 hertz and can move the screen in any direction away from the finger. By changing the timing between the lateral and vertical vibrations, the screen can generate a force that pushes a finger toward the left or right across the screen. By combining this technology with sensors that track where the finger is placed, the screen simulates the feeling of physical buttons and switches.
In addition, Carnegie Mellon University researchers have developed a screen with shapes and buttons that rise out of it in three dimensions. A motor inflates cavities underneath a latex screen so that buttons emerge appropriate to the desired task.
From New Scientist
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