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A Touch Screen With Morphing Buttons

Posted by Soulskill on from the mighty-morphin-power-button dept.

Al writes "Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have created a touch screen that can also produce physical buttons. Graduate student Chris Harrison and professor Scott Hudson use a projector and infrared sensor below the screen to illuminate it and make it touch-sensitive, and the physical buttons are created using air pumps below the surface. They say this type of screen could be particularly useful when a simple, flat touch-screen is too distracting, for example in a vehicle dashboard."

10 of 160 comments (clear)

  1. This fixes touchscreens by JCSoRocks · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I hate the lack of tactile feedback on touchscreens. If this really solves that problem I'd love to see it used in ATMs and self checkouts.

    --
    You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
    1. Re:This fixes touchscreens by Thelasko · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'd love to see it used in ATMs and self checkouts.

      My first thought was that it would be perfect for the Tesla Model S.

      --
      One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
  2. Re:Full of hot air by vrmlguy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is just Gen-1. I can imagine an array of small buttons, closely spaced, that can be raised en masse to simulate larger buttons. Use a piezoelectric fan to provide the air to the buttons one at a time, just like you direct electrons to a CRTs phosphers.

    --
    Nothing for 6-digit uids?
  3. Slashdot logins are busted by Reality+Master+201 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm getting a lot of other people's accounts - including their private, unpublished emails and mod points.

    WTF?

    1. Re:Slashdot logins are busted by Hogwash+McFly · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yeah, same here. Talk about a security problem...

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      Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
  4. Nokia is doing it better by snarfies · · Score: 2, Interesting

    http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/11/07/nokia-introduces-haptikos-touch-feedback-technology/

    The technology in this article isn't scalable, and the "touch screen" isn't transparent, it just has stuff projected onto it from below. The Nokia solution involves piezo sensor pads under the screen and engineered in a 0.1mm movement in the screen itself.

    Not that I will ever purchase a phone that doesn't have actual physical buttons on it for when (not if, WHEN) the touchscreen breaks down. I'm just saying.

  5. Will drain your battery in 0.3 nanoseconds by brasselv · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's just a proof of concept, ok.

    But the concept itself suffers a major limitation: any pressurized, pneumatic-based approach will consume too much power to be eligible for a portable device - where battery life is usually key.

    Not coming to your iPhone anytinme soon.

    --
    "Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong." (Oscar Wilde)
  6. Re:Full of hot air by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    EVERYTHING is "just another component to fail". EVERYTHING. Yes, *that* too. EVERY THING. At least this might keep some idiot from having to stare at his GPS screen when it accidentally reboots and gives the huge "Caution" warning screen.

  7. Re:Full of hot air by King_TJ · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yeah... I thought the same thing - although granted, this is just "proof of concept" stage, right now.

    It's also worth considering, though, the fact that this system allows for another "button state" you don't generally have with physical buttons. You have "raised", "flat" (no air compressor running), AND "convex" where the compressor is creating a vacuum, sucking the surface inwards.

    Maybe that could be put to creative/good use?

  8. Many applications are possible by Drakkenmensch · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Am I the only one who read about these buttons and immediately imagined a full-screen braille reader for visually impaired users?