Researchers Create Bendable Touch Sensor

Researchers Create Affordable, Bendable Touch Sensor

Researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, are working on flexible, stretchable touch sensors that could make the next generation of touchscreen devices bendable.

Sensors are already being used that can detect touch or a hovering finger, and there are also sensors that are foldable, transparent, and stretchable. The work at UBC combines all those features into one package.

To create the sensor, a highly conductive gel is inserted between layers of bendable silicone. The process casts an electrical field above the sensor that can detect touch even while bent. In addition, the materials used in the process are low in cost, making it attractive for use in a wide range of products.

The research, funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, is part of a larger effort to create robotic skins that could make human-robot interactions safer.

This video (below) from the UBC Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers a closer look at the material used to create the sensor.

Passwords Are Becoming So Passé

Passwords can be something of a pain. It’s recommended that users create unique keywords for each device and account, but the tendency for most is to use the same password multiple times or make them so simplistic that they often are easy for hackers to access.

That could soon change as Apple, Yahoo, and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, are all working on ways to eliminate the password altogether, at least on mobile devices. Alphabet is testing a password-free program for signing into accounts with a smartphone, while Apple introduced its Touch ID fingerprint biometric feature with the iPhone 5S.

“Twenty years ago, I never could have imagined the world we live in today, and I’m sure the next decade will be just as unpredictable,” Gerhard Eschebeck, head of security and privacy engineering for Google, said in a report for CBS News. “But I’m also sure that 10 years from now, whether we’re changing legacy systems like passwords or taking on new challenges like networked devices and the Internet of Things, working together to share security knowledge and solutions will be our best shot at handling whatever challenges the future throws at us.”

The Google program includes what it’s calling a “security key” to the standard two-step verification process. The security key uses encryption to make sure only the user who has the key can access the account. Google is trying to develop technology that allows Android users to respond to alerts with their phones instead of passwords, and recognizes the user through speech patterns and typing, according to a report in InformationWeek.

The Apple Touch ID feature allows users to log in with the touch of a finger, but only a small percentage of apps take advantage of the option. However, iOS developers are in the process of creating more apps that use Touch ID.

Yahoo launched a mobile mail app last October called Account Key that requires users to confirm an attempt to log into an account through a notification sent to the smartphone, according to a report in TechCrunch. At the same time, Microsoft is working on a biometrics security feature for its Windows 10 operating system.

Microsoft Buys Keyboard Developer

Microsoft has purchased keyboard software developer SwiftKey, adding it to its own keyboard software, Word Flow. The software is used to make it easier and faster to type on a smartphone touchscreen by finding patterns that identify words users are trying to type.

SwiftKey’s work with artificial-intelligence techniques to speed up typing was part of the reason for the purchase, according to a report in PC World. A new SwiftKey keyboard launched last fall has shown it can provide users more privacy and security by doing a better job of predicting words to use.

The surprise part of the move is that Word Flow is releasing versions for Android and iOS keyboards’ software, something already offered by SwiftKey. Microsoft has no plans to shut down either SwiftKey app, according to Harry Schum, executive vice president for technology and research for Microsoft.

“We’ll continue to develop SwiftKey’s market-leading keyboard apps for Android and iOS, as well as explore scenarios for the integration of the core technology across the breadth of our product and service portfolio,” Schum wrote in a blog post announcing the acquisition.

The GHOST in Your Touchscreen

Imagine a touchscreen that can expand while a movie is being viewed and then shrinks back to its original size when the movie is finished, or a smartphone that bends and stretches automatically to shield the user’s fingers while entering private data. Such devices could be on the market in the next five years.

Generic, Highly Organic Shape-Changing Interfaces (GHOST) technology is being developed by four European universities to let consumers use their touchscreens as 3-D displays. Users will be able to pull objects out of their computer screen and manipulate the information as it is suspended in the air with a swipe of their fingers.

Deformable screens and ultrasound levitation technology makes the GHOST research possible, according to a report from Fox News. Researchers have already developed touchscreens that automatically change shape and ways to project data into the air. One prototype allows users to break down bar charts into rows and columns once they have been pulled out of the touchscreen.

“It’s not only about deforming the shape of the screen, but also the digital object you want to manipulate, maybe even in midair,” Kasper Hornbaek, professor at the University of Copenhagen and GHOST coordinator, said in a statement. “Through ultrasound levitation technology, for example, we can project the display out of the flat screen. And thanks to deformable screens, we can plunge our fingers into it.”

Touch screen technology from Disney Research

An interesting CNN article says that Disney Research is working on a new touch screen technology called TeslaTouch. The new technology would allow users to feel the location of the keys on a flat screen because it uses small electrical impulses to create a pull and push between a person’s finger and the screen. It differs from other touch-sensitive screens because it can actually simulate the feeling of various textures or friction between objects.

Here is a link to a video demo with additional information.