Scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara are about to change our ideas about interactivity, especially in automotive interfaces. They have developed a revolutionary technology for 3D displays, the images of which can now not only be seen, but also physically felt, as if you were pressing a real, protruding button. This innovation could put an end to the uncomfortable, flat touch screens in modern cars.
According to an article published in the prestigious journal Science Robotics, the secret lies in the so-called “optotactile surfaces“. They are made up of pixels just a few millimeters in size. The genius is that these pixels, when briefly illuminated by light, instantly rise, forming tangible, physical protrusions.
The idea was born in 2021, when Professor Jon Wiesel asked himself the fundamental question: can the light that forms the visual image simultaneously cause a mechanical reaction strong enough for tactile perception? After a year of modeling, the team, led by researcher Max Linander, created the first working prototype that, activated by laser pulses, produces a distinct tactile response when touched.
Each pixel is an architectural masterpiece, containing a small air cavity covered with a thin membrane and a suspended graphite film. When the laser beam hits it, the film absorbs the radiation and heats the air almost instantly. The air expands and pushes the surface outward by up to one millimeter – enough to be read by human fingertips.
Most impressively, the scientists have created a tactile display without internal wiring. A single laser beam simultaneously powers and controls the pixels, sequentially scanning the surface and forming dynamic visual and tactile patterns. The new array contains over 1,500 pixels and demonstrates a response speed of 2 to 100 milliseconds - a combination of density, speed and feedback unattainable for previous generations of tactile displays.
According to Tom's Hardware, the technology is easily scalable thanks to the optical addressing system and can use the same compact scanning lasers that are used in modern projectors. This is where the huge potential for the automotive industry lies. The key application is in car interfaces, which will be able to mimic physical buttons, switches and sliders on a central touchscreen.
This means that the driver will be able to feel and touch the controls for climate control, multimedia or navigation without taking their eyes off the road - a critical factor for safety. While the work is still at the prototype stage, it gives a clear indication of the feasibility of creating tactile displays that provide information in the form of dynamic 3D models, accessible both visually and tangibly.