Fondazione Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia

UniversitÁ Degli Studi Di Genova

Fondazione Istituto Italiano Di Technologia

Orange S.r.l.

Marco Maggiali

Giulio Sandini

Giorgio Metta

Marcello Bottino

Giorgio Cannata

A display including: a plurality of light sources that emit light beams; a plurality of optical cores having an elongated shape, each optical core having a respective first end, which is optically coupled to a corresponding light source, each optical core further being such that the light beam emitted from the corresponding light source propagates in a guided manner inside the optical core; and a screen, each optical core having a respective second end, which is optically coupled to the screen. The display further includes an optical separation element, which forms a plurality of cavities that house corresponding optical cores, each cavity and the corresponding optical core forming a corresponding waveguide. The optical separation element absorbs visible light and laterally surrounds at least the first end of each optical core.

Display including a plurality of light sources and a plurality of waveguides

A tactile control arrangement () for at least one electronic device (W, P) including a touch control interface () based on a capacitive sensor matrix (S) and a electronic processing module () associated to the sensor matrix (S) and arranged to receive therefrom a plurality of electrical signals indicative of the touch or the pressure of an external body on at least one sensor (S) of the matrix and consequent commands to be transmitted towards the above-mentioned electronic device (W, P) is described. The sensor matrix (S) comprises a plurality of active sensor electrodes (E) and a corresponding plurality of conductive tracks (T) for the connection of the active electrodes (E) with the processing module (). The sensor matrix (S) is formed by a plurality of flexible functional layers (-) including a first layer () of conductive elastomeric material forming the active electrodes (E) and a second layer () of conductive elastomeric material forming the conductive tracks (T) on a plane parallel to the layer () of active electrodes (E), which first and second layers () of conductive elastomeric material are separated by a flexible layer () of insulating material comprising a non-conductive fabric bearing a plurality of vias at the active electrodes (E) of the first layer () and the corresponding conductive tracks (T) of the second layer (), wherein the layers () of active electrodes (E) and conductive tracks (T) are deformed so as to directly contact through the vias of the non-conductive textile layer ().

Tactile control arrangement for electrical or electronic devices integrated in a textile support

A sensory system for a robot comprises a plurality of tactile sensor arrangements (), each of which includes a flexible planar substrate () adapted to form the coating of a robot body, carrying a plurality of pressure sensing devices (), and an associated signal acquisition microcircuit (), so arranged as to acquire electrical signals indicative of the contact with an external object (O) or environment from the plurality of sensing devices (). The microcircuit () faces a serial communication bus (B) shared by a plurality of associated arrangements, so as to provide the signals acquired by the plurality of arrangements to an external microcontroller processing unit (). The sensor arrangement comprises a single input connection port (') of the communication bus, and at least one output connection port (&#x2032;) of the communication bus, adapted to define a branched path of the bus (B) through said plurality of associated arrangements.

Tactile sensor arrangement and corresponding sensory system

Growing community of inventors

Lavagna, Italy

Marco Maggiali