The Touch Engine (Japanese Press Release)

You know, it's been a long time since we've usurped some mainstream, normal haptics press release and turned it into a naughty toy. Too long, actually.

So, thanks to Sony for the Touch Engine! This is a new form of low power, low profile vibration circuitry will allow touch pads and buttons on small, embedded devices to vibrate.

From the Press Release:

Touch Engine uses piezoelectric vibrators that can be operated using a low voltage electric power source. Therefore, it could be easily integrated with mobile devices such as digital still cameras, PDAs, etc. (It is already used for SONY UCP-8060, a professional controller device for broadcast stations.) Touch Engine is based on the technology developed at Sony Computer Science Lab.

So, now any touch pad or button could potentially become a toy. I'll never trust the touchpads of my friends laptop's again.

via We Make Money Not Art