What would it cost to integrate this haptic technology into our product?+
The project focused on large-area, cost-effective printing technologies specifically to keep manufacturing costs down. However, no per-unit pricing data is available from the project outputs. With EUR 3,774,006 in EU funding across 10 partners, significant R&D groundwork has been done — licensing or co-development would leverage that investment.
Can this be manufactured at industrial scale?+
The technology was specifically designed for large-area printing on plastic foils and integration via standard plastic molding injection. These are established industrial processes. However, the project demonstrated a small-scale prototype, so scaling to full production volumes would require further engineering and tooling work.
What is the IP situation and how can we license this?+
The project was a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) funded under Horizon 2020, with IP typically shared among consortium members according to their grant agreement. The coordinator is CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission), a major public research body. Licensing discussions would need to go through the relevant consortium partners who contributed to the specific components you need.
How mature is this technology — is it ready to put in a product?+
The consortium built and tested a small-scale dashboard prototype with end-users, evaluating haptic sensations like roughness, vibration, and relief. The electronic demo board with full documentation was delivered. This puts the technology at roughly TRL 5 — validated in a relevant environment but not yet production-ready.
What specific haptic effects can this surface produce?+
Based on the project objective, the technology reproduces three distinct tactile sensations: roughness, vibration, and relief (raised features). These are driven by Electro-Active Polymer actuators arranged in a matrix on plastic foils, controlled through custom electronics and accessible via software libraries.
Does this meet automotive safety and regulatory standards?+
The project was motivated specifically by safety concerns around eyeless interaction during driving. End-user testing was performed on the small-scale prototype. However, based on available project data, formal automotive certification (e.g., ISO 26262 functional safety) is not documented in the deliverables.
Who built this and can they support integration?+
The consortium includes 10 partners from 5 countries (DE, EL, ES, FR, UK) with 5 industry partners and 3 SMEs — covering the full value chain from materials to technology manufacturing to OEM integration. The coordinator is CEA in France, one of Europe's largest research organizations with extensive technology transfer experience.
