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Sony's new 'tactile' panel en route to market

TOKYO - Sony Corp is preparing to bring to the consumer market a new type of touch panel that creates a tactile sensation in users. These sensations range from that of clicking a button to that of writing on a pad of paper with a pencil.

Sony will position this pseudotactile panel as a next-generation input device that can replace a keyboard or a touch panel. The company plans to use the panel for PDAs (personal digital assistants) and digital appliances, releasing the first consumer products sporting the new panel as early as year-end.

The panel was developed jointly by Sony Computer Science Laboratories Inc and Sony EMCS Corp, the Sony subsidiary that oversees domestic production. The panel creates tactile sensations by exploiting the piezo effect, applying voltage to make a quartz material vibrate. Piezo-effect vibrations normally require voltages of around 300 volts, which the batteries of a portable digital device cannot supply. But Sony EMCS has developed a low-voltage drive mechanism that can operate on just 10 volts.

(Asia Pulse/Nikkei)

Jun 14, 2003

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