Is that a tablet in your pocket, or are you …
Oh, it IS a tablet.
The Human Media Lab at Canada’s Queen’s University in Ontario — which has a “mandate … to develop disruptive technologies and new ways of working with computers that are viable 10 to 20 years from now” — just unveiled a roll-up computer tablet that you can, yes, roll up and fit into a large pocket.
Consider the MagicScroll a modern flex-screen take on a very old-school scroll parchment, featuring a rollable 7.5” 2K resolution display that unrolls from a 3D-printed cylinder. The rotary wheels on each end allows users to scroll through info on the touch screen — meaning, you’ll only need to unroll it if you pinpoint something interesting.
Why, you ask? Well, it’s a tactile and compact way to scroll through long lists, articles or social media timelines at a glance.
“We were inspired by the design of ancient scrolls because their form allows for a more natural, uninterrupted experience of long visual timelines,” says Dr. Vertegaal, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction and Director of the Queen’s University Human Media Lab, who also credits old-timey Rolodexes for part of the design.
The MagicScroll also works as a gesture-based camera, and the rotary wheels can move or spin based on certain notifications.
A prototype will be shown in early September at Barcelona’s MobileHCI mobile device conference.
[H/t designboom]
Photos: Courtesy of Human Media Lab
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