Disney's new technology allows touch screens to offer realistic textures

Disney researchers have found a way to make people "feel" the texture of objects they see on smooth touch screens. The researchers said that this vibration deceives the fingers, making people believe they are touching an uneven surface. The basic algorithm developed by the researchers can be used to produce textures of various surfaces. They added that the algorithm for generating these vibrations should be very easy to add to current touch-screen systems.

Dr. Ali Israr and his colleagues at the Disney Research Lab in Pittsburgh developed this vibration technology, which can reproduce the real feeling when a finger touches a raised area. Ivan Poupyrev, from the Interactive Research Group at the Pittsburgh Laboratory, said: "The 3D protrusion information received by our brain mainly comes from the stretching of the skin." To deceive the brain into thinking it is touching a real object, the vibration sent through the screen artificially stretches the skin on the fingertips, so even if the touch screen surface is smooth, you will feel the protrusion.