A new functional film developed by Bayer MaterialScience (BMS, Leverkusen / Germany; www.bayerbms.com) adds a sensory dimension to games played or messages typed on tablet computers. The electroactive polymer (EAP) technology manufactured by Artificial Muscle, a California-based company acquired by BMS in 2007, starts with a thin layer of dielectric polymer film sandwiched between compliant electrodes. When voltage is applied, the electrodes attract each other and the film contracts in thickness while expanding in area. In a complex process, the film’s expansion is converted into motion, making it possible to stimulate HD haptic effects.

The innovation marketed as “ViviTouch” and on display for new applications at the recent “Mobile World Congress” in Barcelona / Spain was initially developed for robotics applications. In the meantime it has been leveraged into mobile applications, where it is said to achieve significant motion with less power as compared to other technologies. Up to now, BMS says, mobile devices have offered only a limited range of uniform vibratory signals that do not give players differentiated tactile feedback. ViviTouch, however, “provides access to a virtually unlimited spectrum of precise and simultaneous tactile effects.” In future, headphones incorporating the technology are to be introduced to the market.