Here's a neat material technology you can integrate into your next product concept: Thin film tactile surface sensors. Sensor Products Inc. is a company specializing in the mapping of tactile pressure, and the data they glean can lead to design improvements for everything from windshield wipers to mattresses to body armor.

A few examples: Their Tactilus Real-Time Surface Pressure Mapping Technology, for example, is an electronic skin that precisely measures pressure distribution and magnitude and relays that data to a computer; their Bodyfitter surface sensor measures seat surface, back rest and head rest pressure for furniture and wheelchairs; and they even make a Damage Indicating Paint that can be sprayed onto a product or part--and once a predetermined amount of contact pressure is applied, microcapsules suspended in the paint will burst, revealing the precise wear spot as a different color.

Check out their dozens of applications and products here.