Ancient scrolls have inspired scientists to create this modern, flexible tablet called ”Magic Scroll”

Researchers from Queen’s University, Canada have created the all-purpose tablet prototype with flexible touch-screen – ”Magic Scroll”. The device is comprised of a 7.5″ 2K resolution display that can be rolled or unrolled around a central, 3-D-printed cylindrical body, which contains the device’s electronic system. Two rotary wheels at either end of the cylinder contain robotic actuators and allow the user to physically move or spin in place in various scenarios, e.g. scroll through information on the touch screen. Remember, don’t browse Facebook’s timeline for too long, or your wrists may hurt J When user wants to read e.g. book or news, display can be unrolled and function as a quite big, typical tablet display. This device doesn’t weigh too much, when rolled up, it fits your pocket and can be used as a regular phone too.

One of the inspiration for scientists was the design of ancient scrolls, because of their natural, uninterrupted experience of long visual timelines. Another source of inspiration was the old rolodex filing systems that were used to store and browse contact cards.

Beyond the flexible display, the prototype also features a camera that allows users to use this product as a gesture-based control device. This project was kind of a milestone and scientists want to develop this project further, so they could design the device that could e.g. roll into something as small as a pen that one could carry in the shirt pocket.

Source: techxplore.com