Morphable Surface with Shape Memory Polymer for Tactile Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current human-machine interfaces lack tactile feedback, making them less usable for tasks requiring physical manipulations and inaccessible for visually impaired individuals, and they are not adaptable to control various machines effectively.
Innovation Solution
A morphable surface with shape elements and actuators that change shape and resistance in response to user input, providing tactile and visual feedback, and capable of adapting to different machine controls through alterable physical properties like shape, color, and texture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a touchscreen interface is used, then visual resolution and flexibility are improved, but tactile feedback and usability are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines a touchscreen display with a shape memory polymer layer that can change its physical shape in response to user input. This merging of visual display technology with tactile feedback technology allows the interface to provide both high-resolution visual output and physical manipulatives that users can touch and feel, resolving the contradiction between visual clarity and tactile usability.
Solution Approach 2:
The shape memory polymer layer dynamically changes its shape based on user interaction and control signals. When a user touches or presses the touchscreen, the polymer can deform to provide tactile resistance and feedback, then return to its original shape. This dynamic shape-changing capability enables the interface to adapt its physical properties in real-time, providing tactile feedback while maintaining visual resolution.
2Ease of operation
If a fixed shape tangible user interface is used, then tactile recognition is improved, but adaptability to different purposes is hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The shape memory polymer layer can dynamically change its shape, size, and form factors in response to control signals from the computing device. This allows the tangible user interface to transform from one configuration to another, enabling different tactile recognition patterns for different applications while maintaining the ability to provide physical feedback.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal tangible user interface that can adapt to multiple purposes through shape changes. The same physical interface can be reconfigured to provide different tactile patterns, shapes, and forms suitable for various applications, making it versatile rather than dedicated to a single function.
3Adaptability or versatility
If refreshable pin-based surfaces are used, then tactile graphics accessibility is improved, but cost and market placement are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical pin-based systems with a shape memory polymer layer that can be controlled through simpler actuation mechanisms. The polymer's ability to change shape in response to thermal or electrical stimuli allows for tactile graphics generation without requiring complex mechanical structures, reducing component costs and simplifying the overall device architecture.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances usability and accessibility for all users by providing a universal interface that can adapt to various machines, improving tactile operation and multi-modal interactions, including tactile, visual, and audio feedback.
Implementation Method 1
at least one shape element including: (i) a head; (ii) a base plate; (iii) at least one post configured to connect the head at a top end of the at least one post and the base plate at a bottom end of the at least one post
Implementation Method 2
a spring configured to be disposed between the bottom surface of the support structure and the base plate
Implementation Method 3
an actuator configured to urge against the base plate, the actuator further configured to be disposed in a first state and a second state
Data Source
AI summary
A morphable surface including a support structure including a top surface and a bottom surface and at least one shape element including a head, a base plate, a post configured to connect the head and the base plate and be slidably disposed through an opening in the support structure, a spring configured to be disposed between the bottom surface of the support structure and the base plate, an actuator configured to urge against the base plate and be disposed in a first state and a second state, wherein the first state corresponds to a state in which the actuator is configured to push against the base plate in a push action in a first direction from the base plate to the head and the second state corresponds to a state in which the push action is removed, and a compressible element disposed between the actuator and the base plate.