IIT Techfest 2011: Saw Other Technologies as Well

IIT Techfest held at Powai was not only about robots. Just like CES 2011, where tablets are reigning supreme, we also caught a glimpse of some interesting tablet related tech here.�

Check out the Sledge-Hammer Keyboard and Tactile Interface System.

Sledge Hammer Keypad

At one section of the exhibition hall we saw a keyboard with giant size keys. Keys that required a sledge hammer to get your point across! Simply put, a firm punch gives a small font while a hard one brings up a larger font. Not too practical, but there’s a reason for this exhibit. 

Taylor Hokanson the designers notion was that we take our keyboards for granted and quite often shorten an even-easier task of typing by using 'text talk'. This tiring process should hammer the thought of how easy it actually is to type full words into people's minds. 

Tactile Interface System

Here's something a lot more practical, something that really "touched" us. This stall was headed by two Japanese engineers and they have worked on a tactile touch interface system that is provisioned to give you feedback as the original surface of the choice you make . 

Haptic-king

There were two devices, one with in-built hardware while the other was using a dock connected to the iPad. The interface replicated different textures that gave haptic feedback. You could touch different surfaces like gravel, wool and even a stony option that generated life-like feedback making it feel like you were actually touching the real thing.�

Check out these videos of the feedback system in action. 

On the regular touch device

On the Apple iPad

The Techfest has a lot more to show, stay tuned to this space for more innovations.