Actuated 3-D Display with Haptic Feedback

The Natural Interaction Research group of division Microsoft Research, research wing of Microsoft company, created at the beginning of 2013 the three-dimensional touch screen with the system of haptic feedback (Actuated 3-D Display with Haptic Feedback).^[1]

The device consists of the normal two-dimensional monitor attached to a mechanical hand manipulator. If the user presses a finger on any screen object, the monitor "reacts", for example, imitates pushing away of the represented cube. It is reached by the thin movements of a manipulator arm to which the monitor is attached. In order that "get moving forward" (and even "overturn") a stone cube the user should make much more efforts than to manipulate a scouring sponge.

When the user runs a hand over the ball represented on the screen, the manipulator moves the screen under the user's fingers, creating illusion of touch to a three-dimensional circuit of the represented object. In more detail the procedure of work with the three-dimensional touch display can be observed on video Microsoft's Robot Touch Screen Lets You Palpate a Brain posted on YouTube service. It is interesting that when the user takes away a hand back, the screen "tries to keep step" with it. And when the researcher studies brain model, he feels as fingers density of fabrics.

Originally researchers from Microsoft Research wanted to create the monitor which would move a mechanical hand diversely, but the complexity and high cost of a task forced them to be limited only to the movement of the monitor forward and back. Surprisingly, but despite evidence of the idea, earlier nobody tried to implement it. Technical details of the solution can be read in the material Touch to Feel the Virtual World on the website Micrsoft Research.

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