Posthuman Blues

Morphing gel display puts images at your fingertips

A tactile display made from a watery gel that changes shape to show objects on its surface has been developed by German electrical engineers.

It uses a hydrogel, the type of material used to make soft contact lenses, which consists mainly of water bound up within a polymer. Some hydrogels can swell or shrink in response to changing conditions like temperature or acidity.

I'm reminded of the squishy insectile typewriters from Cronenberg's "Naked Lunch."