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Is this the future of interactive screens? Shape-shifting table top can mimic everything from water to human skin

Materiable is an interactive table top which can act like different materials
Motorised blocks are programmed with different algorithms
The blocks move up and down when touched to reflect movement
This could be used for geoscience studies and medical education

Published: 09:27 EST, 27 May 2016 | Updated: 09:28 EST, 27 May 2016

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Rippling waves passing across the surface of water can be mesmerising to watch, but replicating that movement is a surprisingly complex task.

But now researchers have developed a shape-shifting table top, which can mimic the movement of everything from water to human skin.

Materiable, designed by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is an interactive table top which represents material properties using shape-changing interfaces.

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Rather than just giving physical shapes to digital data, the programme also takes into account that material's properties and allows users to manipulate the table top. Here, the table has been programmed to mimic the movement of water through a material

Shape-changing interfaces have been around for a while, but Materiable, takes the existing technology one step further.

In a paper published in Proceedings of the 34th Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, the researchers said: 'Shape changing interfaces give physical shapes to digital data so that users can feel and manipulate data with their hands and bodies.

However, physical objects in our daily life not only have shape but also various material properties.'

Using a computer to control the table, it can be programmed with different algorithms in order to trigger responses that mimic different materials when touched (mechanism pictured)

HOW DOES MATERIABLE WORK?

The Materiable table top uses foam pixels mounted on motors that move up and down when manipulated by hand, or when controlled by a connected computer.

The computer is programmed with several different algorithms that cause the pixels to respond to touch or motion gestures in different ways.

Multicolored lights are also projected onto the device’s surface in order to render various patterns and objects on the pixel grid.

Rather than just giving physical shapes to digital data, the programme also takes into account that material's properties and allows users to manipulate the table top.

Users can see the table interact as if it were water, rubber, a mattress or even human skin.

In fact, watching the table in action is almost reminiscent of the shape-shifting skin of Mystique, in the X-Men films.

The table is made up of a series of moveable blocks mounted on motors, which can be programmed to move up and down to reflect the movement of a material.

Using a computer to control the table, it can be programmed with different algorithms in order to trigger responses that mimic different materials.

Multicolored lights can also be projected onto the surface of the blocks producing various patterns and objects on the grid (pictured)

Watching the table in action is almost reminiscent of the shape-shifting skin of Mystique, in the X-Men films (pictured)

Multicolored lights can also be projected onto the surface of the blocks producing various patterns and objects on the grid.

The table is able to reflect three main properties of a material - flexibility, elasticity and viscosity.

The researchers suggest that the table could have a wide range of uses, from geoscience studies to medical education.

In the paper the researchers said: 'We envision a future for shape changing interfaces where rendered materials can be recognized by their perceived material properties, directly manipulated and used in applications to enable rich new experiences with digital information.'