Tactus Technology display brings physical buttons to the touchscreen

California startup Tactus Technology recently caused plenty of "oohs" and "aahs" at SID Display Week 2012. The prototype touchscreen the company presented featured buttons that can rise out of the flat surface of the screen at the user's whim, disappearing completely once they are no longer needed.

Beneath the surface of the screen are a number of microscopic channels that can be prearranged by the manufacturer, and a small amount of a clear oily substance. When the physical buttons are "switched on" by the user, the clear substance is pumped through the channels and the solid buttons magically rise out of the display. When the keyboard is switched off, the buttons disappear completely, leaving the user with a full-sized touchscreen device.

The solution appears to be more effective than previous attempts at implementing such a device. Other companies have come up with their own concepts, but the one showcased here might well be the first to reach the consumer market - the company says it will be ready by mid-2013.

In this early concept, the microchannels need to be in a prearranged pattern, such as a standard QWERTY keyboard, and cannot change their configuration - they can only appear or disappear, but the shape and position of the buttons is fixed. However, the company says the display will eventually be able to morph into a variety of different patterns that could be optimized to specific software applications.

The system is also reported to have very low power consumption. Craig Ciesla, CEO of the startup, says his team expects "less than two percent battery drain for the whole day," although such figures will obviously vary based on battery capacity and the size of the display.

While smartphones and tablets are the obvious target market, the company said the technology could also find use in the control panels of production cars.

Comments

Wind Turbines

The Bahrain World Trade Center is the first skyscraper to have wind turbines integrated into the structure of the building.Three large wind turbines are suspended between two office towers. The towers are aerodynamically tapered to funnel wind and draw air into the turbines. This airfoil tapering allows the wind to enter the turbines at a perpendicular angle and increases air speed as much as 30 percent in each of the 95 ft wide turbine rotors. The turbines supply about 15 percent of the electricity used by the skyscraper - approximately the same amount of electricity used by 300 homes. Source: www.norwin.dk

Edible water balloons that could get rid of the need for plastic bottles

In case you didn’t know, bottled water is destroying the planet. We know that we need to be drinking plenty of water. It’s important. But the plastic bottles they’re sold in are terrible for the environment. One solution is using reusable bottles that you can fill from any nearby taps instead of buying a new bottle each time. Another solution is much more exciting. A group of engineers from Skipping Rocks Lab have developed a wonderful thing called The Ooho!. It’s a globe filled water that you can pop in your mouth whole. The outer shell is made of algae, so it’s edible and biodegradable. Meaning there’s no need for packaging or plastic – the globes of water are self-contained and ready to consume. Exciting, right? Plus they’re wobbly and they look cool, which is always a bonus. The team have now created a crowdfunding page to make their creation available to the public, with goals of selling The Ooho! at festival and marathons within the next 12 m...

New record energy efficiency for artificial photosynthesis

As the world moves towards developing new avenues of renewable energy, the efficiencies of producing fuels such as hydrogen must increase to the point that they rival or exceed those of conventional energy sources to make them a viable alternative. Now researchers at Monash University in Melbourne claim to have created a solar-powered device that produces hydrogen at a world-record 22 percent efficiency, which is a significant step towards making cheap, efficient hydrogen production a reality. Efficiency records for solar-powered hydrogen production have continued to rise over the years, and much more rapidly as the technology and techniques improve. Even as late as December last year Gizmag reported a solar-driven hydrogen record efficiency at the time of just 12.3 percent, so this new record shows a very healthy 10 percent improvement on that and beats out the previous record of 18 percent. Splitting water using electricity to produce hydrogen and oxygen has been a...

Daily Tech News

Search This Blog