Researchers at the University of California (UC) Santa Barbara, USA have developed a new display technology that allows on-screen graphics to be both seen and physically felt.
The experimental system uses light to create tactile images, opening the door to haptic touchscreens for intelligent architectural walls, mobile devices and vehicles.
The research, led by PhD candidate Max Linnander in the RE Touch Lab under mechanical engineering professor Yon Visell, was published this month in Science Robotics.
The team set out to answer a deceptively simple question: could light that forms an image also be converted into something the human hand can feel?
The resulting technology is based on thin display surfaces patterned with arrays of millimetre-sized “optotactile” pixels.
When illuminated by a low-power scanning laser, each pixel heats an air-filled cavity beneath a thin graphite film. As the air expands, the pixel surface deflects outward by up to one millimetre, creating a perceptible bump.
By rapidly scanning light across many pixels, the system can generate moving shapes, contours and characters that appear as continuous animations.
Crucially, the same light both powers and controls the pixels, eliminating the need for embedded wiring or electronics in the display surface.
The team has already demonstrated prototypes with more than 1,500 independently addressable pixels, exceeding the resolution of many existing tactile displays.
Linnander said far larger formats are possible, including displays using laser video projectors.
User testing showed participants could accurately perceive static and moving tactile graphics with high spatial precision.
Visell suggests applications in interactive walls and electronic books with tangible illustrations, as well as automotive touchscreens to replicate physical controls.
The team have put forward an intriguing idea that “anything you see, you can also feel”: an approach that could help bridge the digital and physical worlds.
Image credits: nepool/Shutterstock.com
Source: UCSB