Disney Research continues to work on innovative tools in the electronic age, and this week it unveiled yet another one that’s on the horizon.
The company is currently working on a new technology that enables a sense of friction that, in turn, creates an artificial sense of texture. As a result, users think they’re “feeling” an object that isn’t really there, like if they’re looking at an object on a mobile device.
It’s all based around algorithms, as users would generate levels of friction that match how a finger would feel on something if they were touching an object in real life.
“Our brain perceives the 3D bump on a surface mostly from information that it receives via skin stretching,” said Interaction Group director Ivan Poupyrev in a statement. “Therefore, if we can artificially stretch skin on a finger as it slides on the touch screen, the brain will be fooled into thinking an actual physical bump is on a touch screen even though the touch surface is completely smooth.”
Poupyrev continued, “Touch interaction has become the standard for smartphones, tablets and even desktop computers, so designing algorithms that can convert the visual content into believable tactile sensations has immense potential for enriching the user experience. We believe our algorithm will make it possible to render rich tactile information over visual content and that this will lead to new applications for tactile displays.”Source: GigaOm
