"MATERIALS: 'Haptics' display sought to bring graphics to the blind"

The EE who co-invented the electret microphone was recently recruited to help create the world's first graphical "haptic" display for the blind. James West, an electrical engineer, was awarded America's highest honor--the National Medal of Technology--for his work on the electret's charged polymer film that converts motion into an electrical signal. For the National Science Foundation funded haptic-display project, West wants to turn this concept around, by sending signals to an electro-active polymer that responds with motion on its surface. The researchers hope their efforts will result in a display of graphical patterns for the blind to feel with their hands.
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=203100808