E-Reader Lets You Physically Turn the Page

"I'd love to have something with flexible displays where I could flip the display and move to new pages," says Thomas Coughlin, a senior member of IEEE and founder of Coughlin Associates.

A new e-reader device prototype, called Paranga, allows users to physically turn the pages.The realistic page-turning function is intended to make the e-book easier for users like children and the elderly.Readers can flip the pages infinitely to peruse a whole e-book and find a single page. "It  feels more like a real book, making it easier to understand and control." says Yuichi Itoh, an associate professor at Osaka University and project manager for the new device


The device is a mixture of high and low technology. Inspired by flipbooks, the prototype has two facing parts resembling an open-faced book. Page turning is controlled on the right-hand side, which is made from a flexible rubber sheet covered in spongy cloth. Along the sheet's edge, a narrow cylindrical roller with page-like grooves connects to sensors inside the device.

The left side of the device has a small LCD monitor that displays content, including animations and text. As the user moves a thumb along the roller, the system is programmed so that the corresponding pages will turn on the monitor. A "bend" sensor along the center of the sheet detects flexing, so the more the rubber sheet is bent, the faster the pages will turn on the monitor -- just like in a paper book.

Source: Discovery News