TactileInterface
Latest
FingerFlux system uses magnets to add tactile feedback to touchscreens
We've seen a number of efforts that promise to make touchscreens more tactile, but none quite like this so-called FingerFlux system developed by a team of researchers from Germany's Aachen University. Its hook is a layer of magnets that lie beneath the touchscreen and react to a simple thimble that the user must wear. While that particular accoutrement could be considered a slight drawback, it does open up a number of interesting possibilities -- including the ability to draw your finger towards an item on the screen, and "lock" it in a certain area. What's particularly key, however, is that you're also able to feel a bit of feedback before you even touch the screen -- as opposed to other entirely screen-based options -- which could could let you operate something like media player controls without actually looking at your phone. Of course, it's all still a long ways from being shrunk down to phone-size, but the researchers do have a working prototype in a table-top device. Check it out in the video after the break.
Nokia's kinetic future: flexible screens and a twisted interface (video)
Hidden within Nokia's Future Lounge, this very flexible display offers up a glimpse of what sort of thing we could possibly be dealing with when we roll up to Nokia World in 2021. The prototype Nokia Kinetic Device, including its display, can be flexed across both the vertical and horizontal planes -- with bending and twisting motions controlling the interface. If you bend the screen towards yourself, it acts as a selection function, or zooms in on any pictures you're viewing. In music mode, you can navigate, play and pause with the tactile interface. It's still a way off from arriving on phones, though Nokia is aiming to whet developers' appetites with this prototype. We may have seen some twisty interfaces already, but nothing packing a four-inch screen and built-in functionality like this. Nokia couldn't confirm the screen technology being used. Could that be a flexible AMOLED display? See those impressive viewing angles and contortions after the break and judge for yourself.%Gallery-137602%
RePro3D is a 'touchable' 3D interface that lets you poke pixies (video)
The illusion of 3D is kind of ruined the moment you reach out and try and grab whatever silly thing is supposed to be protruding from the screen. Researchers at Keio University in Tokyo have started to figure out a solution to the problem, and are calling their system RePro3D. By combining a glasses-free 3D display with an infrared tactile interface, they are able to create a holographic model that responds when "touched." The next step for the team is to provide feedback via a wearable device, adding the sensation of touch to the already impressive illusion of interactivity. We do have our concerns about the researcher's motives however. One of the creators, Keitaro Shimizu, told DigInfo, "there are many attractive characters in animations and games, but since those characters only exist within the screen, it feels a little lonely..." We guess getting a girlfriend is out of the question. Check out the video after the break.
AIST's i3Space tactile 3D interface: destroyer of (virtual) worlds
Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST, to friends) is responsible for a good many innovations that the denizens of the year 2030 take for granted, and the new i³Space certainly won't tarnish the institute's record. Built on the foundation of AIST's own GyroCubeSensuous for tactile feedback, the i³Space tracks the motion of the operator's two index fingers in 3D space, and sends back "illusionary tactile and kinesthetic sense" through the controllers. Details are still a little thin, but AIST plans to show the full rig off at CEDEC next week, with eyes on reducing the size of the system of courting gaming, design, and medical applications in the near future. Hopefully they throw in this Earth-prodding simulator for free, we always wanted to have a good go at Greenland.
