Last week, we got hold of a conference video showing how a student not only planned, but had also started to put into operation systems for mobile development that involved changes in shape, movement of mass and even ‘life’, and told you all about his wacky plans. Mobile phone development, of course, is a popular niche science, and perhaps this kind of pace of development at prototype level should no longer come as a shock. This week, though, we’ve learnt about still more complex science being put to the test, albeit in a slightly more down to earth way.
A small, UK-based division of Samsung that distributes parts for mobile phones amongst numerous major companies has recently licensed an advanced type of quantum material – described as a ‘quantum tunneling composite’ – that will enable pressure to be added to the functionality of standard touch-activated keys and screens. While the possible uses for the development are fairly simple, mobile phones developers are thought to be excited by the prospect of adding a third dimension to mobile phone use. The effective transfer from 2D to 3D use – while seemingly simple – could have a mammoth effect on the way in which mobile phones are used. This can be achieved using pressure by having menus that not only move left, right, up and down as they do now, but can also move ‘in and out’ of the phone, according to the pressure applied, allowing lists to be accessed in a different way.
Another common function for the pressure sensitive devices is likely to be in the improvement of mobile menu scrolling. While present scrolling methods allow movement up and down a phones menu to have its speed programmed electronically by the manufacturer (and so things like speed up once you have flicked through a larger number of phone numbers), a pressure function will allow manual control, with more pressure applied by the user indicating a faster scroll speed to the device.
The quantum functionality of this pressure pad screen/ key is based on a ‘composite’ polymer, a chemical device that in simple terms uses tiny current-conducting particles dispersed evenly through a plastic. While none of the conducting particles actually come into direct contact with each other, putting pressure on the plastic and pushing the particles closer together causes the increased transfer of current through a complex micro-level phenomenon known as tunneling. While tunneling is a random phenomenon, on a larger scale the probability of random charge transfer increases, and so the patterns can become more predictable. The complex tunneling process is still in its relatively infant stages in terms of scientific understanding, and functions at an atomic level. With increased understanding, though, scientists are uncovering functions like this one, which sees the pressure ‘measured’ by an increased current when the button is pressed harder, when the conducting process of tunneling becomes more likely.
Of course, there are other ways to create a pressure sensitive functionality, but this one is particularly desirable, mainly because it can be done on such a small scale. The atomic scale of the process means that functional switches can be produced that are no thicker than a human hair. The quantum method also has advantages over more simple techniques as it doesn’t require a consistent power source, and so can be used over a far greater period of time without running down the device’s battery.
The technology is also being considered for possible uses in gaming (where pressure would have obvious usability functions) and robotics, but is likely to reach the mobile phone mass market first, due to a combination of competitiveness, speed of development and potential profitability for the companies involved. With early models touted for as soon as the summer, this is definitely a development to keep an eye on, even if the science goes straight over your head.
