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Robots in development can reach out and touch someone

Robotic prostheses may have a way to go before they work exactly like human limbs, but researchers are making great strides. A team out of Georgia Tech is working on new technology that could give these robotic limbs something akin to a sense of touch.

Thanks to tactile-sensing material that covers the entire prosthesis and software that integrates the gathered data, this robotic arm can maneuver through clutter and distinguish between hard and soft objects as it grips, pushes, and pulls more intuitively.

"Up until now, the dominant strategies for robot manipulation have discouraged contact between the robot's … Read more

Tactile glove is like a homing device for your hand

I've been known to wander the wasteland aisles of the grocery store, seeking out a single elusive item in a futile voyage only slightly shorter than "The Odyssey." If only I had a prototype tactile glove developed by the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology and the Max Planck Institute for Informatics.

The glove works by giving the wearer physical feedback. It vibrates to lead the person to a point in 3D space. The researchers see it being useful for locating items in a supermarket, finding a car in a parking lot, or zeroing in on a book among the stacks of a library.… Read more

Ford's RUTH robot arm extends hand to North America

If you're driving around in a 2013 Ford Fusion and think to yourself, "My, but this seat is comfortable," there's a good chance you have RUTH the robot to thank.

Ford's Robotized Unit for Tactility and Haptics -- a modified consumer packaging arm that tests interiors for quality and comfort -- has crossed the Atlantic from Europe to bring her touchy-feely testing skills to North America.

The robot simulates human motor skills to measure parameters like roughness, hardness, and temperature on points such as the steering wheel, knobs, and armrests. RUTH has already been used for several years at the automaker's European Research Center in Aachen, Germany, to poke and prod European versions of the Focus and Fiesta.

RUTH 2.0, located at Ford's Product Development Center in Dearborn, Mich., measures seat comfort too. She has extended her six-jointed arm all over the seats of the 2013 Fusion, the first North American car headed to production that she's had a major hand (or arm, we should say) in testing. … Read more

Hands on with 4iThumbs 2: Tactile keyboard for iPhone 4

If you are an iPhone detractor due to its lack of a physical keyboard, 4iConcepts has a product for you. 4iThumbs 2 is a screen protector that adds tactile functionality for users looking to feel what they're typing.

I received a test unit last week from 4iConcepts and, as they state, the screen protector adds a BlackBerry-esque keyboard feel to your iPhone 4. Simply apply the plastic screen to your iPhone in the proper direction and next time you pop the virtual keyboard, little bumps will be on each key.

Though the cover has the bumps, pressing any icons, … Read more

CES: Razer reveals Switchblade, a concept touch-screen PC gaming portable

LAS VEGAS--Every year at CES, there are the concept devices and out-on-a-limb concepts that inevitably grab headlines and rapt attention. The Razer Switchblade, announced today, is certainly one of these.

Described as a way to bring desktop PC gaming to a portable form factor, the concept device comes from Razer, a company known for making mice and computer peripherals. And yet, the Switchblade is a full Netbook of sorts, an actual PC product, albeit not one that's set for production yet.

The Switchblade is Intel Atom-based, with a touch screen and a dynamic tactile keyboard that adjusts its layout … Read more

Microsoft eyes shape-shifting touch screen

Microsoft could be looking to give touch screens more of a tactile feel.

A patent filed by the software giant in 2009 and published last week details a light-induced shape-memory polymer display screen. In a nutshell, that means a touch screen that has a real texture and tactile feedback to it, making people feel as if they're touching an actual object.

Invented by Erez Kikin-Gil, the screen would be coated with polymers that could change or hold their shape when different wavelengths of ultraviolet light hit the pixels from underneath, according to an article in New Scientist.

The screen … Read more