GelSight -- I believe this qualifies as microscopy?

[phreakocious]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7gXih4XS7A

Fascinating stuff.. I wonder if the angle of refraction of the material helps?

[GrayPlayer]

Could a camera "READ" the movement and generate a response?

[rjlittlefield]

I wonder if the angle of refraction of the material helps?

My understanding is that this stuff is "just" an extremely compliant transparent material with a very fine grain opaque matte surface.

BTW, when I write "just", those words are intended to mean simple in concept, not simple to accomplish. I'm quite amazed by the small size of features that propagate through that thin surface layer they describe as "paint", so as to be visible on the back side.

According to the original paper, "Microgeometry Capture using an Elastomeric Sensor", which can be read at http://www.gelsight.com/papers/microgeometry.pdf, it's actually a layer of "pigment containing near-spherical particles of silver less than 1 micron across [...applied...] without a binder to further limit thickness."

More info elsewhere on Gelsight's website (gelsight.com) .

--Rik