Not satisfied with your smartphone?
As the 2017 Mobile World Congress winds down, and a wide range of new smartphones are danced before attendee’s eyes, there seems to be little earth-shattering progress in smartphone technology. Yes, they are a bit thinner, and they do have slightly better cameras, and the displays have even smaller borders, but will that get you to abandon your iPhone or Galaxy smartphone that you have come to love and cherish? Probably not, however researchers at the Human Media Lab at Queens University in Ontario might be able to convince you to upgrade. Back in May of last year, we noted that the same researchers had figured out how to produce (in the lab) a smartphone that is not only flexible, but has a holographic display.
The device, which has a 1920 x 1080 full HD OLED display is truly flexible and that flexibility can be used as a control for applications, in itself a significant accomplishment, but the addition of an array of 16,000 fisheye micro-lenses, allows the viewer to see images from any angle by turning the phone. The ‘bend’ function of the device can be used to control the Z axis (depth), while using normal touch for the X & Y axes. This allows users to edit 3 dimensional models by touch, rather than by entering coordinates or by dragging objects in only two dimensions.
While we rarely comment on display ‘lab’ advances, as they tend to be far removed from commercial production, this project seems to have at least put OLED, flexibility, and holography all together in one device, a singular accomplishment. While we have not heard of a commercialization timeline yet, and the holography portion of the display is still low resolution, the potential is quite interesting, and given the holographic array is produced on a 3D printer, we would expect resolution to continue to improve, as the Holoflex project continues it development. Soon you will be able to see if the back of your haircut was as good as the front without a mirror…https://youtu.be/UDOkwJTPgCc for the 1 minute video
The device, which has a 1920 x 1080 full HD OLED display is truly flexible and that flexibility can be used as a control for applications, in itself a significant accomplishment, but the addition of an array of 16,000 fisheye micro-lenses, allows the viewer to see images from any angle by turning the phone. The ‘bend’ function of the device can be used to control the Z axis (depth), while using normal touch for the X & Y axes. This allows users to edit 3 dimensional models by touch, rather than by entering coordinates or by dragging objects in only two dimensions.
While we rarely comment on display ‘lab’ advances, as they tend to be far removed from commercial production, this project seems to have at least put OLED, flexibility, and holography all together in one device, a singular accomplishment. While we have not heard of a commercialization timeline yet, and the holography portion of the display is still low resolution, the potential is quite interesting, and given the holographic array is produced on a 3D printer, we would expect resolution to continue to improve, as the Holoflex project continues it development. Soon you will be able to see if the back of your haircut was as good as the front without a mirror…https://youtu.be/UDOkwJTPgCc for the 1 minute video
Holoflex 3D image on bendable OLED Smartphone - Source: Human Media Labs
Rotatable 3D image - Source: Human Media Labs
Using flex as a control for gamimg - Source: Human Media Labs
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