They could lead to a whole new sort of high-resolution displays

Apr 29, 2013 10:04 GMT  ·  By

I suppose that after seeing elastic touchscreens in action, I shouldn't start gushing over the idea of a shape-changing mobile device, but I can't really help it. Much.

Researchers from the University of Bristol's Department of Computer Science, led by Dr. Anne Roudaut and Professor Sriram Subramanian, have revealed devices that can change shape on demand.

Called Morphees, they are flexible in the sense that they are made of several sections that can fold according to pre-ordained “hinges” or are just made of material that can bend.

The real punch line, however, is that it doesn't take human effort to force the display or gadget to change shape and stay that way.

Instead, users just need to tap certain parts of the device and it will change shape on its own.

All things considered, it's no mystery why they are called Morphees. The technical description would be along the lines of self-actuated flexible mobile devices.

Source: University of Bristol