Shape memory alloy dashboard tray that remembers gestures

Fraunhofer IWU Research Institute has developed a dashboard tray that opens and closes a row of wires by detecting hand gestures using shape memory alloys.

The dashboard tray is convenient, for example, when driving a car and holding a coin for a moment when paying for sunglasses, smartphones, highway passes or parking tickets. Fraunhofer said the tray would be useful when riding other people’s cars, such as rental cars or car sharing. Inspired by carnivorous aquatic plants, this tray has built-in sensors. It remembers gestures according to the size of the dashboard, and the next time it detects this movement, it instantly sends an electric current to generate heat, and the shape memory alloy operates. It is designed to be flat when nothing is placed.

The Fraunhofer side seems to be positing a method of using it by putting something on the dashboard and then going down like a trap and picking up the desired item when using it. The prototype is said to be robust enough to withstand 3 million openings and closings. Related information can be found here .