Toshiba demos iPod touch with tactile interface
May 13
ipodnn – Future Apple handhelds [or wearable devices] could potentially offer feedback when touched, a Toshiba technology demonstration hints. At this week’s Embedded Systems Expo in Tokyo, the company is showing off an iPod touch with a special film on top. Based on a Finnish technology known as “Senseg E-Sense,” the film helps to generate small electrical field changes that can nevertheless be felt by human fingers. Resistance can be simulated when sliding open a door, for instance, and buttons can be made to feel as if they protrude.
Toshiba is presenting an even more elaborate concept via a PC trackpad, likewise enhanced with E-Sense. Using it to move an onscreen cursor over images produces the sense of different textures, such as rough or bristly surfaces. The company argues that the film is a better option than haptic (vibration) feedback, as it is less prone to breaking, and can be adapted to curved devices.
RSS
Digg
Facebook