Microsoft is working on a smartphone cover that works as a touchscreen
Microsoft seems to be working on a smartphone cover that not only protects the casing but can also be used as a kind of touchscreen. The idea is that the case is used to complement the smartphone screen.
Microsoft’s research team is collaborating with a group of Swiss scientists on the concept, which is called FlexCase. A video has appeared online explaining how the smartphone cover works. It shows that the cover also functions as a touchscreen, and that it is linked to a smartphone. By pressing the touchscreen buttons, the smartphone can be operated, whether or not in collaboration with the own screen of the paired device.
A 4″ e-ink screen is used for the construction of the cover, which can detect input with piezoelectric sensors. Such sensors measure the pressure or deformation of the material. As a result, other ways of input are possible in addition to simply pressing the screen Certain distortions of the flexible screen act as gestures, for example bending a corner of the FlexCase to adjust the volume.
A possible application of the secondary touchscreen is, for example, placing text, where the screen functions as a kind of ‘clipboard’. The video shows how different pieces of text can be placed on the touchscreen, so that they can be quickly pasted again later. However, the Microsoft researchers have devised even more applications, including for map applications, the camera and as a security method. The latter is possible, among other things, by setting an access code via the secondary touchscreen, which also takes into account how hard the user presses on the screen.
Because it is still a research project, it is unclear whether and when such a concept could come on the market. Microsoft has not disclosed anything about this, so it is likely that a possible commercial release is still a long way off. However, the researchers do plan to show the FlexCase next month during the Computer-Human Interaction conference, so that more information may become available then.