Project description
Novel actuator for large-scale graphic tactile displays
The World Health Organization counts some 300 million people who are visually impaired, worldwide. Yet, progress has been limited in recent decades on tactile displays that allow for texts to be translated and graphics turned to touchable pixels. This ERC Consolidator project aims to further advance micro-actuator array technology with a fundamentally new concept termed the Capillary Lock Actuator (CaLA). CaLA will be a significant breakthrough in the field, allowing for a wide range of applications in microsystem technology. Most importantly, it will mark a significant step in making information technology inclusive for all people who are visually impaired, providing a cost-effective solution to large-scale tactile displays.
Objective
According to the World Health Organization more than 285 million people worldwide are visually impaired. In a world where graphics and online content (images, webpages) become increasingly important the inability to perceive information visually is the primary inhibitor for inclusion. In contrast to display technology for sighted people, tactile displays which translate text and graphics to touchable pixels (taxels) have seen little progress in recent decades. So-called Braille lines which display only a single line of text are still the norm. The reason why graphical tactile displays do not exist is the lack of a suitable actuator technology which allows generating massively parallelized individually addressable cost-effective taxel arrays.
This ERC Consolidator project aims at a revolution in microactuator array technology with a fundamentally new concept termed the Capillary Lock Actuator (CaLA). CaLA is a novel bistable massively parallelizable microfluidic microactuator which overcomes many of the limitations currently associated with microactuators. It can be operated with low-voltage control signals and requires virtually no power for actuation. CaLA harnesses three concepts inherent to microfluidics: positive capillary pressure, segmented flow and controllable locally confined changes in wetting. The project will use CaLA actuator arrays for setting up the very first portable tactile graphic display with 30.000 individually addressable taxels thereby significantly outperforming the state-of-the-art. It will be based on manufacturing techniques for highly complex microstructures in glass invented by my group.
CaLA will be a significant breakthrough in actuator technology and enabling for many applications in microsystem technology. Most importantly, it will be a significant step towards making the information technology inclusive for the visually impaired by providing the first robust cost-effective solution to large-scale tactile displays.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2018-COG
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79098 Freiburg
Germany
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