Scientists at the Human Media Lab, Queens University, Ontario Canada have developed the world’s first foldable smartphone which can change from a phone to a tablet and a notebook using a set of hinges and screens. The shape changing smartphone can be detached, flipped and folded into different shapes can act independently and also act together as a single system.
Paperfold – World’s first foldable smartphone can be transformed into a tablet, map and laptop.
The Paperfold smartphone takes its inspiration from the normal ‘Paper’ and it is a shape changing smartphone that allows users to fold open up to three flexible electrophoretic displays to provide extra screen real estate, the amount of space available on a display, when needed.
“In PaperFold, each display tile can act independently or as part of a single system,” says Dr. Vertegaal, a professor in the School of Computing and Director of the Human Media Lab at Queen’s University Canada.
“It allows multiple device form factors, providing support for mobile tasks that require large screen real estate or keyboards on demand, while retaining an ultra-compact, ultra-thin and lightweight form factor, Dr. Vertegaal said”.
Folding two screen into a notebook shapes open a keyboard at the bottom. When the Paperfold three display screen are flattened, the view changes into a Google map that span across all screen and shaping the paperfold into a convex globe show the map in Google Earth view. Also, when the Paperfold is placed in theshape of a 3D building when viewing a map will view the Google SketchUp of the building and turn the device into an architectural model that can be 3D printed.
Watch the PaperFold Smartphone prototype in action in the video Below
Previous efforts from the team at Human Media Lab at Queen’s University Canada before the Paperfold smartphone include the Paperphone, Papertab tablet and the Morephone smartphone prototype. The Paperfold is currently a prototype and no details about its commercial availability was revealed. The device was unveiled at the. ACM CHI 2014 conference in Toronto last week monday.
