Interface module to reproduce "click" feelings

Touch panels, now in wide use, provide no feedback to the user, that is, none of the sensation associated with operating a device. This is the main weakness of touch panels relative to mechanical switches. TouchEngine is designed to reproduce these feedback sensations by vibrating a touch panel with piezoelectric elements.


Natural "click" feelings can be reproduced, along with several tactile patterns

タッチエンジン_ページ用A number of approaches had been worked out to convey feedback for touch-panel data entry, among them, running a vibration motor and performing feedbacks on a mechanical switch. However, the vibration motor approach had not been enough to generate natural "click" feelings. This was because vibration reaches not just fingertips but also the hand holding the device, and there exists a time lag in feedback. TouchEngine works to vibrate the touch panel only, and employs highly responsive piezoelectric elements. These features combine to make a device that promises to provide crisp feedback sensations to users. The actuator is constructed by sandwiching thin piezoceramic film between adhesive electrodes, so that it can be used to implement low-voltage drives for mobile devices and to reproduce a range of tactile patterns. 



TouchEngine has been on display since 2009 at Sony Wonder Technology Laboratory, New York.

>> Sony Wonder Technology LAB WEBsite

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