Plastic shapes can provide a real physical keyboard clicky touch

Several years ago, I attended a conference haptic technology. There is the usual array of ridiculous gadgets that are technically only meet the definition haptic (lively dog ​​collar when the dog leaves the house, the stylus that vibrates when you press it) but buried way to the back is supposed to be tactile touchscreen - and it worked! The device vibrates at various frequencies basically knock your finger from the screen several times per second, effectively adjust the friction between the finger and the glass. As I moved from the real image to image ice, my finger slipped seem appropriate, and while that may not be what you would call "useful," explained sold me on the concept: the creative use of haptics can be more than just a Rumble Pak 2.0. It can fundamentally affect how we use these devices.

These kinds of haptic technology almost all trying to use vibration to simulate several other physical sensations, but what if we really could change the friction surface, make it smoother or bumpier with real physical deformation? More importantly, what if we could make a keyboard that really pops out of the screen, and which can be suppressed because of our kind? Strategic Polymer claims will bring the product to market next year to do just that: pop lock up really click when clicked, and do it with a ground-breaking millisecond response time.

Star Trek did not even put a down payment is about 300 years in the future, even with the Federation ship using a flat, touch chirpy. Strategic Polymer solutions using high electromechanical materials new strain that can damage the "10%" and that responds quickly. Historically, we have to choose one of two virtues, getting good responses and significantly slow, or fast and small. Here, Strategic Polymer claim, we have technologies that will allow true, the key can be clicked to pop right off the surface of the touch screen of your smartphone, and to respond quickly and accurately. See initial video technology below.

This technology works through electrostriction, which is owned by every object in the world dielectrics. With these polymers engineered to respond very specifically to an electric field is applied, however, the researchers claim to be able to create all sorts of useful deformation - like, for example, a few dozen square keyboard keys. By adjusting the applied electric field in response to touch, the screen can seem to move in response to pressure, although in reality there are only moves in response to an electric field, which changes in response to touch. The result, if everything is working as quickly and as smoothly as Strategic Polymer claim, would be a real physical keyboard on the touch screen is fully functional.

What is unclear, however, is how physical features may need to be programmed. This is of course interesting to imagine a touchscreen that can take a new physical layout controller for any game or application, put a strip of rough bottom right of the screen for a good tactile scroll bar, or you can feel the volume slider slide, or maybe just embossed logo above. Info at this time does not make it clear whether this will be possible, however, due to deformation may need to be built into the electroactive polymer, keyboard layout could work for reliable key can be built directly into the polymer. ExtremeTech logo, unfortunately, much more in the air.

One very interesting feature is the ability to play sound material. A speaker is only very controlled vibrating surface, really, one that creates a small electrical wave patterns that we interpret as sound. Haptic technology has a low response time is enough that he can do this yourself. Watch the video above to see how this technology can turn almost any surface into a low-fi computer speakers.