stuck design develops 'kinetic touchless' to recreate the tactile response of pushing a button

stuck design has developed ‘kinetic touchless’, a new interaction technology for touchless lift buttons that mirrors the user’s finger movements to recreate the tactile response of pushing a button. this new technology aims to bring tactility back to the otherwise non-tactile interaction of contactless tech, and can also go beyond lift buttons.

‘with contactless interactions on the rise in the face of COVID-19, most touchless tech tends towards a static sensor with a light or buzz to indicate an activated button, greatly diminishing the push button interaction,’ says the singapore-based studio. ‘in the case of kinetic touchless, the button uses motion as feedback.’

all images courtesy of stuck design

by going beyond the expected feedback of light and sound, stuck design’s ‘kinetic touchless’ provides a surprising and yet newly familiar way to interact with contactless technology. the button uses motion as feedback: as the finger moves towards the button to activate it, as one would a traditional lift button, the ‘kinetic touchless’ button responds with the same motion by sinking inwards before pushing back out, directly mimicking the finger motion. this drastically shifts the image of how touchless tech can be—a tactile button that remains safely contactless.

‘the concept of bringing tactility back to the otherwise non-tactile interaction of contactless tech can also go beyond lift buttons,’ notes stuck design. ‘kinetic touchless mimics movement at a distance to provide tactile feedback that mirrors the input motion, even when no direct contact is involved. in doing so, kinetic touchless capitalises on the flexibility of contactless interactions while maintaining the tactility of contact interactions. this type of touchless interaction can be applied to various gestures, such as pushing, pulling, and sliding.’