Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have developed a new display technology that allows users to both see and feel on-screen graphics. The innovation uses tiny pixels on screens that expand outward to create bumps when illuminated, making dynamic graphical animations visible and tactile.
Max Linnander, a PhD candidate in the RE Touch Lab led by mechanical engineering professor Yon Visell, was the lead researcher for this project. Their findings were published in Science Robotics.
Linnander explained how the research began: “The question was simple enough: Could the light that forms an image be converted into something that can be felt?” Visell added, “We didn’t know if it was feasible. The possibility that it might be impossible — and the very idea of enabling people to ‘feel light’ — made the question irresistible.”
After nearly a year of theoretical work and computer simulations, Linnander succeeded in creating a working prototype in December 2022. He recalled demonstrating it to Visell just before leaving for the airport: “I’d been working on this for a year. I was going to leave for the airport in a few hours, and I had just gotten my latest prototype up and running.” The prototype used brief flashes from a small diode laser to excite a single pixel without any other electronics.
Visell described his experience with the device: “I put my finger on the pixel and felt a clear tactile pulse whenever the light flashed. That was a special moment — the moment we knew the core idea could work.”
The core technology features thin display surfaces with arrays of millimeter-sized optotactile pixels. These are powered by projected light from low-power lasers through optical addressing. Each pixel contains an air-filled cavity and suspended graphite film; when illuminated, this film heats up rapidly, causing air expansion that pushes outwards to form perceptible bumps.
This process is fast enough so that scanning a light beam across many pixels creates moving graphics that can be seen and felt simultaneously. Because illumination also provides power delivery, there is no need for embedded wiring or electronics within each display surface.
The team demonstrated devices with over 1,500 independently addressable pixels—more than comparable tactile displays previously reported—and noted potential scalability using modern laser video projectors.
User studies showed participants could accurately detect individual illuminated pixels by touch with millimeter precision, perceive moving graphics, and distinguish spatial as well as temporal patterns. According to researchers, these results suggest their system can produce diverse tactile content.
Visell pointed out historical precedents such as Alexander Graham Bell’s 19th-century experiments turning modulated sunlight into sound vibrations in air-filled tubes—the same physical principles now applied digitally through optotactile pixels.
Potential applications include automotive touchscreens mimicking physical controls, electronic books featuring tangible illustrations brought to life on pages, or architectural surfaces supporting mixed reality experiences.
Summing up his team’s achievement, Visell said their invention demonstrates “a simple, intriguing idea: anything you see, you can also feel.”
