VIDEO: University of Bristol develops shape-shifting touchscreen device

Cubimorph can automatically reconfigure in a user’s hand

Researchers at the University of Bristol have developed a prototype for an interactive mobile device, called Cubimorph, which can reconfigure its shape on demand to change its function.

The prototype demonstrates how interactive devices such as smartphones could automatically turn into a console when a user launches a game.

Developed by the university’s department of Computer Science, the Cubimorph consists of a chain of cubes that hold organic light-emitting diode (OLED) touchscreens on each of its six module faces. The chain of modules is connected with a hinge mounted on a turntable mechanism, which the university said allows the device to be “self-contained, have free-faces and creates seamless surfaces when docking and form any approximate 3D geometry”.

The device is made up of two parts: the mechanical design and a reconfiguration algorithm based on a “probabilistic roadmap”.

Offline, Cubimorph can create random and non-self-colliding chains. When the device is connected online an algorithm works out how to go from one chain to another by searching for the best and quickest paths. The algorithm is able to reconfigure the device safely, ensuring that it doesn’t squeeze users’ hands or create cumbersome configurations such as a straight line.

The university said while there has been a growing interest toward achieving modular interactive devices in the human computer interaction (HCI) community, so far existing devices consist of folding displays that barely reach high shape resolution. The proof-of-concept Cubimorph prototypes were developed to demonstrate how the design can be miniaturised and are embedded touchscreens.

Dr Anne Roudaut, lecturer from the University of Bristol's Department of Computer Science and lead of the Cubimorph project, said: "Cubimorph is the first step towards a modular interactive device. Much work still needs to be achieved to put such devices in the end-user hands but we hope our work will create discussion between the human computer interaction and robotics communities that could be of benefit to one another other."

The research was conducted in collaboration with the Universities of Purdue, Lancaster and Sussex.