Pressure sensitive touch screens can hit devices in a few months

If you’ve ever used a graphic tablet you know that it is great for drawing as it registers pressure that’s being applied to it with a stylus. In case of current touchscreen devices there’s no way the OS can register pressure, thus making a difference between a hard press and a light touch. A device that could do that could implement contextual menus and actions depending on how hard you press on the screen.

Quantum tunneling sounds owesome

Peratech is an UK based researcher that recently had a breakthrough in pressure sensitive touch screen displays that use quantum tunneling technology to register pressure. The technology is easy to implement and requires no additional power to operate, and thickens the original display by just 75 micrometers. What makes this tech a performer is the ability to register touches of just 2 micrometers, which is incredibly sensitive. Peratech said that their technology could be available in a few months so expect interface changes soon for Android, iPhone OS and maybe Windows Mobile.

Source: Technology Review