The world's first non-electric touchpad is launched: it can sense contact force, area and position even without electricity

On October 30, technology media scitechdaily published a blog post yesterday (October 29), reporting that researchers at the University of Tampere have developed the world's first non-electric touchpad, which uses pneumatic channels to sense touch without the need for electricity.

This innovative device uses pneumatic channels to sense the force, area and location of contact without electricity, opening up new application possibilities in areas such as medicine, soft robotics and rehabilitation assistive devices.

The touchpad is made entirely of soft silicone and contains 32 pneumatic channels just a few hundred microns wide that can adapt to different touch methods.

In addition to detecting the force, area, and location of a touch, the trackpad is accurate enough to recognize handwritten letters and even distinguish between multiple simultaneous touches.

This technology has broad application prospects. If a cancerous tumor is found during an MRI scan, the pneumatic robot can perform a biopsy during the scan; or enhance the tactile perception ability of soft robots and advanced bionic hands to provide more precise grasping.