Adding the sensation of turning pages to e-book readers

[From DigInfo.TV, where the story includes additional pictures and a 1:41 minute video]

Paranga Adding Tactile Feedback to E-Reader Devices

23 March 2011

At Interaction 2011, a research group with members from Osaka University demonstrated the Paranga, a device which recreates the sensation of turning pages when using an e-book reader.

“E-books are becoming popular, but the only feedback they give you is pictures and sound. For example, if you want to skip ahead several pages in an e-book, you scroll with your finger to the desired position. But the problem is, that’s not very intuitive. The advantage of this device is that, when you skip ahead, it lets you know roughly how many pages you’ve gone by giving you a relevant sensation.”

The system uses a built-in sensor to detect how much the book is bent and then recreates the page flipping sensation by rotating a roller which has multiple strips of paper attached. The speed of the rotation is directly affected by how much the book is bent. Although at present the system is not sensitive enough to accurately detect just one page turn at a time, it can turn multiple pages at varying speeds allowing for flip book animations to be displayed.

“If we create a system with foil on the roller, so the voltage is discharged as soon as a page is turned, it’ll be able to detect one page at a time. We think that would enable more accurate detection, so we’d like to work on developing it.”

“We think it would be good if this device could be attached as to iPads as an add-on device, so people can use it when they actually read e-books.”

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