Microsoft Display Technology Adds Different Textures to Touchscreens

Touchscreens accept all your swipes and taps, but they don’t give you much in return. Or at least not yet. Microsoft recently applied for a patent for a “light-induced shape-memory polymer display screen,” which uses infrared light to sense a user’s touch and to change the surface of the display itself. In effect, this new type of touchscreen, also known as a “vibrotactile display,” could give users the impression that they are feeling ridges, bumps, and other textures.

This technology works by placing a layer of shape-memory plastic above a touchscreen. According to Erez Kikin-Gil, the project’s inventor, Microsoft would like to see these tactile screens appear on large computing displays, such as the company’s 30-inch multitouch Surface computer. Placed on top of the Surface’s display, a coat of shape-memory polymer could produce a hard texture for some wavelengths and a softer texture for others. In other words, someday you might be able to feel the fur of a kitten and the bark of a tree as you scroll through your photos.