New touch screen tech on iPad

Last-minute rumor: Apple snuck Senseg’s groundbreaking haptic display technology into iPad 3?

Christian Zibreg Apple Inc
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March 7, 2012 at 5:18 am


We are extremely skeptical about this one, but are re-posting it for the sake of discussion. According to Pocket-lint sources, Apple’s iPad 3 will incorporate a new, advanced tactile feedback technology that could add a whole new sensory input to the tablet. Unlike traditional haptic feedback that creates the sensation of physical touch by means of a small electrical stimulus – creating pulses that push back against the finger – Apple’s solution allegedly puts an electrical pulse behind every pixel.

In theory, this would effectively create a 2048-by-1536 Retina display with so-called “textured feedback”. That is, it would add “texture” to objects on the screen when touched. Possible applications of this technology could be numerous and especially handy for both seeing and hearing issues. In addition, games would gain a whole new dimension if programmers could control scree pulses with a pixel-level accuracy and provide sensory perception of textures by varying friction between the screen and the user’s finger.

According to the article, Apple has been in talks with a Finnish startup called Senseg, the creators of advanced haptic display technology called E-Sense, depicted in the below clip. Now, when asked whether Apple licensed their technology, a company spokesman told the publication that “We won’t be making any statements until after Apple’s announcement”.

Similarly, Senseg’s technical marketing manager Petri Jekonen provided a similar answer to The Guardian newspaper yesterday:

That would be for Apple to say. My comment is no comment.
Plus, Senseg senior vice president Ville Mäkinen told Trusted Reviews that his company is “currently working with a certain tablet maker based in Cupertino”. The publication explains that the aim of Senseg’s technology is to “make a corrugated surface feel corrugated, a rough surface rough, a soft surface soft”. What’s so special about Senseg’s technology?