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Future

The future of haptic technology

One of the most interesting areas of electronics research right now is into the potential applications of haptic technology.

What is haptic technology?

Anything ‘haptic’ refers to touch. As such, haptic technology encompasses technical devices or innovations that create tactile simulations.

Haptics can be used across a huge variety of products, from the vibrations when you press a button on your smartphone, to life-like human-robot interactions.

There are three main types of technology in haptics: graspable, wearable, and touchable.

Touchable:

One of the most ubiquitous uses of haptics is in the touchable screens of smartphones and tablets. A tactile response is when something responds to touch, so when you touch your smartphone and it vibrates in response.

Graspable:

A good example of the graspable category of haptics would be joysticks used in video gaming. Depending on the pressure and angle exerted on the joysticks, the game responds accordingly. The kinaesthetic feedback from devices like joysticks or game controllers can be felt in more than just our fingertips.

For slightly more serious use-cases, look no further than military bomb disposal units. By using graspable haptics systems, operators can use robots to defuse bombs without putting any people at risk.

Wearable:

These devices usually use pressure, friction or temperature to create a tactile experience. Haptics are used in some smart watches, which can have a tactile response when scrolling or clicking.

Companies working in haptics

There are several labs and research facilities that are making a name for themselves in haptics. A Swiss lab working for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) has some interesting projects underway. The University of South Carolina also has a Haptics Robotic and Virtual Interaction (HaRVI) lab. Many universities also have research centres dedicated to haptic technology, including Stanford and King’s College London.

There are some big names also researching the utilisation of haptics too. Companies like Disney are researching different ways to use haptic technology, including interactions between humans and robots and haptic jackets.

The future of haptics

There’s so much research being done into the applications of haptic technology, including some things that could be revolutionary. Among other things the University of South Carolina are working on a device called ‘Grabity’, which is trying to add the feeling of weight and gravity to graspable haptics. As you can imagine, it’s difficult to add the perception of a different weight to a graspable device. The way they do this is through the use of voice coil actuators. These electronic components convert electric signals into magnetic force, giving a feeling similar to gravity.

Several labs and companies are also working on haptic soft pneumatic actuator (SPA) skin. This invention could be used in soft robotics, which in turn could be used for an array of life-changing applications. The skin could go onto invasive surgical instruments and rehabilitation devices since it can safely interact with the human body.

Disney’s research division has several haptic projects running, including one for haptic telepresence robots. The robot uses hydraulic and pneumatic lines, combined with a remote person controlling the robot.

So close you can almost touch it

Haptics is a constantly evolving field of research with some really exciting potential developments down the line.

However, something you don’t have to wait for is finding those electronic components you’ve been searching for. Cyclops is on hand to fulfil all your semiconductor requirements, be it new, obsolete or anything in between. Contact us today to find those components you’ve been looking for on +44 (0) 1904 415 415. Alternatively, email us at sales@cyclops-electronics.com. 

Categories
Electronic Components Future Technology

Could conductive ink replace conventional circuitry?

It seems like the stuff of dreams, having a pen or a paintbrush that could conduct electricity. Well, those dreams are very real, readily available to buy online, and at a relatively cheap rate, too.

Conductive ink pens and conductive paint that can be used with a pen, paintbrush, or a printer is a reality, and is already being put to work.

What is it?

Conductive ink and conductive paint are liquid materials mixed with nanoparticles of a conducting material like silver or graphite. The paint and ink are technically slightly different, in that the paint sits on the surface of a substrate, while the ink would sink into a substrate it was applied to, like regular ink on paper.

Although the metals are usually in a solid state at room temperature, if it’s in a nanoparticle form it can be mixed with a liquid. When the liquid is spread and begins to dry, the nanoparticles and electrons within them begin to form conductive chains that the current is then able to travel through.

The inks used normally work at 12V, and can be transparent which means it would be a good choice for companies to integrate it invisibly into their graphics.

Uses

One notable way silver-infused ink is currently used is to print Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags in tickets.

Another common place to find conductive paint or ink is in the rear windscreen of cars. The resistive traces applied to windscreens to help defrost them contain conductive paint. Traces printed on the window can also serve as a radio antenna in more recently manufactured cars.

Conductive inks and paints were originally intended to be used for e-textiles and wearables. The potential for clothes that could detect temperature and heart rate, among other features, is an area receiving considerable investment.

Problems

When compared to conventional circuity and conductors, conductive inks and paints will never be able to emulate the strength of conductivity. In a way, it would be unfair to pit the two against each other, like putting boxers from vastly different weight classes in a ring together.

The reliability and connectivity of traditional conductors is much higher so is preferred for regularly used products, however conductive inks and paints would be utilised in areas that traditional means could not. So, as much as these factors are disadvantages they would be irrelevant when it comes to the product.

Layers of the ink or paint may not always be thick enough to have any conductive strength at all, and it could take several layers of it to properly form a current-conducting pathway. Additionally, the user is relying on the nanoparticles in the liquid to align correctly for conduction. The material would work only for smaller direct voltages too, probably up to around 12V.

Silver is a material that has a higher cost than other conductors like graphite, and could make the price of some paints unreasonable for some customers. The low cost alternative is graphite, but this also has a higher resistivity than metals like silver.

The future

As far as development goes, nanoparticle paint is still in its infancy. Its uses are limited and occasionally unreliable, so although it has cornered a niche conductive market it’s unlikely we’ll see it permeating the sector for a while.

If you are looking for trustworthy day-to-day or obsolete electronic components, Cyclops are here for you. Don’t paint yourself into a corner, contact Cyclops today to find what you’re looking for, at sales@cyclops-electronics.com.

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