getting hard and soft with electricity

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-...roperties.html

so this is pretty cool... :)

That is pretty cool. An interesting future awaits us with the likes of memristors, quantum computers and neat stuff like this.

I think something like this could have applications in some forms of tactile feedback for augmented reality applications. I didn't see it in the article, but does it maintain its shape when shifting between property sets?

I suspect it sorta doesn't if the "tactility" is changed too much in a given direction. Imagine if something like car engine blocs could be made of this, with some kind of electronic "perimeter" around it. If a high-impact frontal collision occurs, the densest part of the engine both melts away and becomes something of a cushion.

I read in Science about a material which would slightly change shape when a current or something was passed through it. It was being looked at for cell phone touch screens to give tactile feedback. Image feeling the shape of icons on a screen. Imagine playing some dumb game on your EyePad and you could feel things happening. Imagine touching your finger against your significant other's through the screen while you're on a business trip a thousand miles away. This is the next big thing. Maybe.