Reflex: The Worlds First Wireless Flexible Smartphone Developed

Scientists From Canada, have claimed to develop the world’s first wireless flexible smartphone that allows users bend sensors to simulate flipping of pages and playing games without even touching the display of the screen and make them feel the crook sensation by bending their apps. Researchers at Queen's University's Human Media Lab developed ReFlex, a full colour and high-resolution smartphone that combines multi-touch with bend input allowing users to experience physical tactile feedback when interacting with their apps through bend gestures.

The report about the Flex has been published in EurekAlert.com, and the report said the bend sensors are placed on the back of the display to sense the force with which a user bends the screen. The amount of bend is read by the sensors and is made available to apps for use as input.

The director of the Human Media Lab at Queen's University, Roel Vertegaal, said, "This represents a completely new way of physical interaction with flexible smartphones". He Further explained, "When this smartphone is bent down on the right, pages flip through the fingers from right to left, just like they would in a book. More extreme bends speed up the page flips, Users can feel the sensation of the page moving through their fingertips through a detailed vibration of the phone".

Researchers have claimed that the Reflex is based on a high definition 720p LG Display Flexible OLED touchscreen powered by an Android 4.4 “KitKat” board mounted to the side of the display. The newly developed smartphone is aimed to provide a high-level gaming experience to the users. In support of this Roel Vertegaal said, "a user plays the “Angry Birds” game with ReFlex, they bend the screen to stretch the slingshot. As the rubber band expands, users experience vibrations that simulate those of a real stretching rubber band, and when released, the band snaps, sending a jolt through the phone and sending the bird flying across the screen".

ReFlex also features a voice coil that allows the phone to simulate forces and friction through highly detailed vibrations of the display. Combined with the passive force feedback felt when bending the display, this allows for a highly realistic simulation of physical forces when interacting with virtual objects. “This allows for the most accurate physical simulation of interacting with virtual data possible on a smartphone today,” said Vertegaal.