Acoustic Manipulation of Tangible Janus Icons on Liquid Droplets

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Koroyasu, Yusuke, Ochiai, Yoichi, Fushimi, Tatsuki
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Koroyasu, Yusuke
Ochiai, Yoichi
Fushimi, Tatsuki
author_facet Koroyasu, Yusuke
Ochiai, Yoichi
Fushimi, Tatsuki
contents Interfaces that couple digital information with physical matter enable computation to be expressed through tangible motion and touch, yet typically rely on embedded actuators, rigid mechanisms, or enclosed environments. Consequently, contactless manipulation and interaction with centimeter-scale tangible elements in open settings remain difficult to achieve. Here, we present PolygonWave, a solid--fluid acoustic interface that enables transport and tangible interaction by coupling airborne ultrasound with liquid-mediated support. The system employs lightweight Janus icons with asymmetric wettability: a superhydrophobic upper surface permits dry touch interaction, while a hydrophilic lower surface couples to a water droplet resting on a superhydrophobic mesh. Focused acoustic fields generated by a 256-element phased array induce lateral forces, enabling programmable motion without mechanical contact. Systematic characterization demonstrates transport of payloads up to 525 mg across variations in icon size, droplet volume, and applied load. Beyond translation, the liquid layer functions as a reconfigurable mechanical element, enabling button-like input with self-recovery and resonance-driven vibro-visual feedback, exhibiting a peak response near 22 Hz for 200 \textmu L droplets. Liquid-mediated acoustic coupling provides a unified mechanism for mechanically expressive, touch-accessible tangible interfaces bridging acoustics, soft matter physics, and physical human--computer interaction.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_18730
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Acoustic Manipulation of Tangible Janus Icons on Liquid Droplets
Koroyasu, Yusuke
Ochiai, Yoichi
Fushimi, Tatsuki
Applied Physics
Materials Science
Interfaces that couple digital information with physical matter enable computation to be expressed through tangible motion and touch, yet typically rely on embedded actuators, rigid mechanisms, or enclosed environments. Consequently, contactless manipulation and interaction with centimeter-scale tangible elements in open settings remain difficult to achieve. Here, we present PolygonWave, a solid--fluid acoustic interface that enables transport and tangible interaction by coupling airborne ultrasound with liquid-mediated support. The system employs lightweight Janus icons with asymmetric wettability: a superhydrophobic upper surface permits dry touch interaction, while a hydrophilic lower surface couples to a water droplet resting on a superhydrophobic mesh. Focused acoustic fields generated by a 256-element phased array induce lateral forces, enabling programmable motion without mechanical contact. Systematic characterization demonstrates transport of payloads up to 525 mg across variations in icon size, droplet volume, and applied load. Beyond translation, the liquid layer functions as a reconfigurable mechanical element, enabling button-like input with self-recovery and resonance-driven vibro-visual feedback, exhibiting a peak response near 22 Hz for 200 \textmu L droplets. Liquid-mediated acoustic coupling provides a unified mechanism for mechanically expressive, touch-accessible tangible interfaces bridging acoustics, soft matter physics, and physical human--computer interaction.
title Acoustic Manipulation of Tangible Janus Icons on Liquid Droplets
topic Applied Physics
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.18730