Many research groups over the past couple of years have proposed the idea foldable computer screen, which uses could roll up and stuff in their pockets and such. Realizing that such possibilities are still far in the future, the a team from Canada, called Fluid Interfaces Group, has come up with a radical idea that can be brought to fruition right now. They call their idea the Resizable Display and they say we all ought to convert right away. In a companion piece, that they plan to use as their research document when they present their idea to the Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI 2012) Conference running next week in Kingston, Ontario, the team describes how their idea works.
They say that the idea of everyone using a single screen has outgrown how people used computers, whether desktop, or hand-held, as in cell phones. They say that the time has come to provide users with multiple screens to run wholly separate applications. To that end, they have created the Resizable Display, which is perhaps not a wholly accurate description of what it is. In reality, their product looks like the physical notebook that people have used for hundreds of years; the kind where the person using it can open it up, jot down information, then close it when they’re done. Instead of paper, though, the Resizable Screen has video screens on the top, on both pages inside, and on the back. The “folding” part of its name refers to being able to fold and unfold it, sort of like a wallet.
To make the device usable, the team has developed a special type of connector where the fold occurs, ensuring that the device can open and fold thousands upon thousands of times without wearing out. They’ve also created a two-fold device as can be seen in the video they’ve created to demonstrate their idea, giving the user three interactive pads.
To make the device even more usable they’ve added touch sensitivity, essentially making each screen into a mini iPad. And because the device is very thin, some models can actually fit in a back pocket.
The Resizable Screen isn’t an actual product yet, but from the looks of it, will likely soon be, and it, like several Apple products before it, could be a game changer. It overcomes one of the main problems with the iPad, and that is holding and carrying it around. With the Resizable Screen, a user can have just as much screen space but in a much smaller device. If they can make the product rugged enough to survive the back pocket, we might be seeing the beginning of the end for both the iPad and the Smartphone as we know them.