Create Temporary Physical Buttons On Touch Screens With GelTouch

It’s a fact that touch screens paved the way for the smartphone revolution in the world. They allowed bigger displays that could recognise gestures and the keyboard would popup on screen when we wanted to. This however caused a problem for people who craved the sensation of a physical keyboard and they satisfied their urge by buying an additional accessory which was either cumbersome to carry or ridiculously expensive. If some German researchers have their way, you will be able to enjoy physical buttons on your smartphone or tablet screen that would pop up and disappear whenever you want to. Researchers at the Technische Universität Berlin in Germany have created a prototype 7-inch gel-covered touch screen called GelTouch that brings up physical buttons of any shape and number you want.


Yes, that’s right. You can have unlimited shapes or structures appear on your touch screen at anytime. So how have the researchers achieved this feat? Well, at the heart of GelTouch lies a layer of heat-responsive transparent hydrogel that can be forced to turn into any solid shape by heating it up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit or 32 degrees Celsius. The researchers placed a transparent conductive film of indium tin oxide below the gel and connected electrodes to it. By passing an electric current from one electrode to another they force the hydrogel to heat up. When the hydrogel is heated above 32 degrees, water evaporates from the gel and makes it opaque and stiff. Researchers have been able to create custom shapes in the indium tin oxide conductive film by engraving shapes on the layer. They say it is possible to put several engraved layers to create more high resolution shapes.


In their current prototype, the researchers have managed to create shapes on the touch screen that resemble a grid of buttons, a slider and a one-finger joystick button for games. You can check out the video #-Link-Snipped-#. We liked the part, where you can type in a phone number without actually looking at the touch screen. This would bring back the time when college students would sneakily type messages on their T9 keyboard under their desks without raising any suspicion from the instructor.


This prototype like all new inventions is laced with problems. Experts have raised concerned about the time it takes for the gel to harden into a button which is two seconds for hardening to opaque button and the same amount of time for cooling back to gel again. #-Link-Snipped-# cites the opinion of another tactile feedback expert, Micah Yairi, who says that adjusting the current flow to a particular area without heating up its surrounding area is a tricky proposition. We also have some concerns on GelTouch as well. The biggest concern is regarding summer temperatures in tropical countries, like India, which surpasses well above the 32 degrees mark. This would make it impossible for the gel to go back to its original transparent state when it’s hot outside. We would also like to know what you think of the GelTouch and if there are any suggestions to improve the product so that it can be launched into the market. Head over to the comment section below after pursuing though the #-Link-Snipped-# and its coverage on #-Link-Snipped-#.