About the Use of Magnetically Hard Flexible Membranes for Tactile Interfaces

Abstract:
Tactile interfaces nowadays are often susceptible to humidity and can be used only with bare hands (resistive, capacitive) or are quite costly (NFI). Investigations on composite membranes being mechanically hyperplastic and magnetically hard show that these materials provide an alternative to common functional principals. The change of the membrane’s form leads to a measurable change in its magnetic field at short distances. A possible application of the material for a tactile interface is demonstrated by the development of a prototype.