14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft, which makes the Xbox 360 home gaming console and publishes video games for it, has filled a patent which is linked to a new technology that can add a texture layer to traditional touch screens that are already on the market.
The patent, which was apparently filed this week, talks about a “light-induced shape-memory polymer display screen”.
The description mentions a “topography-changing layer” which is activated by a ultraviolet light and will be layered on top of devices that currently have touchscreens, like the new generation of smartphones from various producers.
The patent does not say where the new technology could be used or how far off an actual official launch is.
Since Apple introduced the iPhone the gaming world has been experiencing a revolution with a lot of developers and a lot of gamers attracted to the new platform because of the low prices for new games and the fact that the title can be played on the move and on a device which also has other uses, unlike the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable from Sony.
But gamers have complained that the iPhone, but also the iPad and the iPod, lack the tactile feedback that is crucial when using the traditional controllers of other mobile platforms.
The new technology could solve that problem, although it's highly unlikely to see Microsoft create a way of actually improving devices sold by Apple, which is traditionally seen as a rival.
Microsoft might be working on expanding its own Surface concept and could use the new polymer layer in a new gaming device which bears similarities to the iPad.
Maybe at some point in the future the need for any controllers and keyboards and simply do all out input for consoles or PCs via a touchscreen enabled television set which also incorporates this new texture technology.