Retail technology solutions - haptics

Retail technology solutions rush along at an unbridled rate, and with it so does digital signage. And so it should, as retail technology solutions like digital signage deliver an 18 percent increase in sales. That's pretty substantial, when you consider that ordinarily only two in every 100 consumers make a purchase in an ordinary retail environment.

Because of this, it is no surprise that digital signage companies are slugging it out to create amazing visuals and fascinating touchscreen alternatives in an attempt to stand out from the crowd. But they may need to push the boat out even more, as there is a new kid on the block that looks set to push the touch screen signage interfaces even further. Enter haptics, a touch feedback technology that could become prevalent within the signage community.

Haptics - a genuine retail technology solution

Haptics is essentially an electronic tool that tricks the brain into thinking it is something else, like, touching a cold dark computer screen could illicit the illusion that the user is touching fur.

And this could really be a viable retail technology solution, as companies compete for a different hands-on approach to selling and advertising. Vincent Hayward, head of haptics at the Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics at Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris thinks tactile feedback can make touchscreen devises even more intuitive to users.

In an idea that is similar in appearance to 3D, Californian company Immersion are creating a screen that has the appearance that the touchscreen buttons protrude from the surface. And despite keeping the methods for their new invention close to their chest, Immersion have indicated that the illusion is achieved in part by using a piezoelectric motor to vibrate the screen laterally.

Indeed, the use of vibrating screens is being adopted across the globe from Mexico City to Illinois. In Mexico, Gabriel Robles De La Torre, a neuroscientist and computer engineer is using vibrating surface technology to create the image of a sharp surface, whereas in Illinois, Ed Colgate is using a high frequency vibrating screen to create the illusion of a slippery surface.

With retail technology solutions like haptics the future of advertising and digital signage within the retail sector is likely going to become an arms race of technology, with all new ideas pushing the boundaries of customer interaction and intuition.

Related articles:

Digital signage - A new solution with SaaS? | Is digital signage the face of the future? | Retail technology - 2D to 3D signage conversions | Top 4 digital signage trends for 2010

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