• 2 min read
Metasurface turns keyboard commands into holograms
University of Stuttgart researchers built a metasurface that turns keyboard and game-controller commands into holograms in milliseconds.
Image: TechXplore
Schematic illustration of the interactively addressable organic metadevice. Credit: University of Stuttgart
A programmable metasurface developed by researchers at the University of Stuttgart can turn keyboard commands into dynamic holographic letters and numbers within milliseconds. The platform independently controls each optical pixel using electrically switchable organic materials and sub-volt signals.
Metasurfaces use nanoscale structures patterned on flat surfaces to manipulate light. Unlike conventional optics, their behavior can be changed electronically. The Stuttgart team combined plasmonic gold nanoantennas, ultrathin electrochemically active conducting polymers and a planar electronic fan-out architecture to create an independently addressable organic metadevice.
Each pixel can be switched separately with millisecond response times and negligible electrical crosstalk. That allows the same physical device to perform different optical functions by changing its electronic driving signals, rather than fabricating a new component.
Recommended reading
Roscosmos tests modem that survives power loss
Keyboard commands become holographic games
The researchers connected the metadevice to a complete electronic control system. Keyboard inputs were converted into holographically projected letters and numbers. A handheld game controller also let users play holographic versions of Snake and a Tetris-inspired block-falling game.
“Independent addressability is the foundation of every programmable technology. Future metasurfaces will follow the same principle. By giving every optical pixel its own electronic address, we transform metasurfaces from predefined optical components into programmable photonic platforms capable of adapting their functionality in real time.”
The work was published in Nature Communications as “Interactively addressable organic metadevices,” by Xiangyu Huang et al. The paper’s DOI is 10.1038/s41467-026-75757-4.
The researchers say larger pixel arrays, improved conducting polymers and more advanced control systems could extend independently addressable metasurfaces to imaging, communications, sensing and wearable photonics.
Frontier Editor
Dan is our resident futurist, covering electric mobility, space exploration, and the smart home. He's interested in atoms just as much as bits. Whether it's a new battery chemistry, a reusable rocket, or a protocol that finally makes IoT devices talk to each other, Dan breaks down the engineering that pushes humanity forward.
via TechXplore
