Physical tactile buttons for touch screen devices

http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-features/63829-mobile-tactile-tech-gets-physical

by leejw00t354 • 14 years ago

34 7 14 years ago

domwood3• 14 years ago

The immediate benefit is that this makes, or with a little refinement (not sure how small the tactile areas can be), touch screens properly accessible to the blind without changing anything on the software interface. That is a very good thing, as it's accessibility, but layered on top of what exists. I wonder if it can do Braille? 'Cause that would just be cool.

I'm not really in to having it for standard UI, I prefer the idea of some kind of electromagnetic field providing the haptic feedback, something a bit less.. crude? Obvious? something like that.

jawns• 14 years ago

It'll be nice not only for the blind (assuming Braille or something comparable is feasible with this technology) but for those of us who'd like to be able to touch-type, which is tough with existing touch-screens.

wxl• 14 years ago

Touch-typing on any little keyboard like that is near impossible. On a normal keyboard, you're moving multiple fingers short distances. While on a little keyboard you're moving two fingers longer distances (key-wise, not actual distance). This makes it much harder to touch type since it's harder to judge where your fingers have to go.

This is at least my experience with little cellphone hard-keyboards, maybe it's different for others.

Regardless, braille would be really cool. Assuming the screens were high enough resolution (that is, could raise itself up accurately enough to make small dots) to display it.

mmcconnell1618• 14 years ago

I wonder if the buttons can be relocated in real-time? Imagine a radio dial or fader that you could feel rotating or sliding under your fingers with resistance as it reached the end of allowed travel.

Pretty cool technology.

Physical tactile buttons for touch screen devices

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