Physical buttons on touchscreens could soon be a reality

If we were to rank concepts that we hope to see in reality soon, this one by Chris Harrison and Scott Hudson at the Carnegie Mellon University would top the list easily. The graduate student and computer science professor pair have developed a proof-of-concept display that makes haptic and audio feedback on current touchscreen panels look like child's play.

The prototype is made from several layers of specially cut acrylic. These form an air-tight chamber that reacts either positively or negatively when the air pressure between them changes. This, in turn, creates bumps (buttons) and depressions on the top translucent latex layer.
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Swiss robot wants some time with you

When Swiss developers designed the QB1 robot, they weren't going for human-like looks or cute puppydog mannerisms.

Instead, they're hoping QB1 will hook people in on a more meaningful level--by providing a handy music-suggestion service--and thus giving the robot continuous exposure to data stemming from real human interaction.

Artificial intelligence "systems need to learn in the real world, from real people. You cannot program them with knowledge from the real world", said Frederic Kaplan, CEO and co-founder of QB1 developer OZWE.
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SmartTouch puts some muscle into haptic technology

Artificial Muscle believes that when you touch your computer or phone, it should touch back.

The Silicon Valley company is working on putting haptic feedback in a variety of devices, from laptops to touch-screen phones. Though forced feedback isn't a new concept, the way this company is going about it is different. It showed off some of its technologies at the Interactive Displays 2009 conference.

Instead of using the vibration motor in a phone to give feedback from a screen, the company has developed and patented an electroactive polymer that expands when it receives an electronic signal. In this case, it's an audio signal, which the actuator, as it is called, receives. Special software tells the actuator to give off a different sort of feedback depending on what a person is touching on the screen.
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Researchers build 'flying' micro-robot

A flying micro-robot has been developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.

A research team, led by Professor Mir Behrad Khamesee, manipulates magnetic fields to levitate and move around three axes a robot weighing about three-hundredths of an ounce.

According to a paper shared with ZDNet UK--"MechMN: Design and Implementation of a Micromanipulation System using a Magnetically Levitated MEMS Robot"--this is accomplished with an array of electromagnets that creates a three-dimensional parabolic magnetic field.


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CellScope aims to solve sickness in developing world, wins Intel contest

What's this gizmo? Another ridiculous lens thing for bolting on the front of your phone to beef up that pitiful 2-megapixel camera? Actually, no: It's the CellScope, which turns a normal mobile phone--in this case, a rather venerable Nokia N73--into a microscope. Limited access to microscopy in the developing world makes this a handy tool for diagnosing diseases like tuberculosis and malaria.

The CellScope works with handhelds and even Netbooks. The really clever bit is that it wirelessly transmits patient data to clinical centers, allowing the patient to be evaluated remotely and treatment suggested. Developed by Daniel Fletcher, associate professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley, the device could also be used for home monitoring of patients in the developed world.
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