Researchers Yang Zhang and Chris Harrison at Carnegie Mellon University have granted an ordinary piece of paper with touch-sensing powers.
A conductive material applied to the back of a single sheet creates the touch sensitivity. The paper is connected to a reading device, which is linked to a laptop computer. Once everything is in place, the input method can continuously track both finger and writing tools, such as pens and pencils.
The fueling force behind this project was cost. The team believes their technique is so inexpensive, that the upgraded medium could still be tossed in the trash after a single use.
To drive down the cost, the researchers separated the expensive, reusable electronics from the interactive medium, which is inexpensive and disposable. This design choice created an easy way to connect the paper to the sensing board.
“That said, one day, it should possible to include the electronics directly in the paper itself. This has already been demonstrated with eInk displays for magazine covers, singing birthday cards, and RFID tags, all of which contain simple microprocessors so inexpensive they can be discarded,” according to the research.
The system is sensitive to electromagnetic noise emitted by appliances, power lines, and fluorescent lights. To remedy this, the “sensor board includes a high pass filter before the ADC preamp. Superior analog filters, signal processing, paper construction, and trace material could no doubt reduce this further,” but the team will apply this optimization to future prototypes.
The researchers detailed a variety of use cases where this technology could prove beneficial. Examples include print media, education, digital notes, and board games.
To learn more, read the article, “Pulp Nonfiction: Low-Cost Touch Tracking for Paper.” To see the touch-sensing paper in action, watch the video below.