NTT Docomo Shows Off Touchable 3D Screen, Hands On at MWC 2011

Needless to say, the Mobile World Congress is packed full of all sorts of smartphones, tablets, handsets and any other type of mobile electronic, but it seems not all news is about such things, as NTT Docomo revealed not a new phone or slate, but a 3D touchable display.

Mobile World Congress is an international trade show currently taking place in Barcelona and which was used as the opportunity to launch new devices by a high number of companies.

In fact, we even have a couple of colleagues making rounds there, taking shots of various products on display.

Among the more recent tablets that fell under their eyes and led to hands on reports were ViewSonic's ViewPad 10, Acer's Iconia Tab A100, and ZTE's V11 10-inch Honeycomb slate.

Now, NTT Docomo seems to have caught the eyes of our fellows, even though it revealed something completely different.

What the company did was demonstrate a fairly small prototype of its newest 3D touchscreen technology.

Basically, it is a 3D panel equipped with tactile feedback described by our man on the site as fairly strong.

The screen is small enough to suggest that it is probably intended for handsets or the like, something in tune with its exhibition at an expo focused on mobile products.

Basically, the principle behind the recognition of the pen input relies on a three-dimensional tracking of said pen by two cameras.

There is a coil behind the display, through which electrical current is sent. Meanwhile, magnetic power is provided by a small magnet at the tip of the stylus.

To illustrate this functionality, NTT Docomo had someone approach a 3D chameleon with the magnetic pen. The 3D sprite first turned its head towards the pen, then stretched its tongue towards its point.

It is unclear how long it will take for mobile gadgets to adopt this sort of 3D touch module or if it will even be applied in larger display form factors.