Hitachi Labs has developed a new LCD technology that I’ll just go ahead and call “LCD force feedback.” Using a touch-sensitive screen, the entire LCD panel will “push” inwards 1 or 2 millimeters in response to touching certain regions of the screen. And by “certain regions” I mean buttons. I could think of some other certain areas to push, but I suppose the technology hasn’t come far enough yet.
Currently, the only real way you can tell whether or not you’ve pressed a button on a touch panel is some visible or audible signal. Having the screen itself physically provide feedback should help the elderly in particular. Being old makes you completely blind and deaf while giving you a super sense of touch. That’s how grandmas use the vibrations coming through stolen cookies to know when to slap you silly.
Hitachi develops ‘hand answer’ for pushing buttons on LCDs [Asahi Shimbun]
