The smartphone that’s SUPPOSED to bend: Researchers reveal prototype handset that can control apps by being flexed

ReFlex柔性手机 手机碎屏成历史

A new flexible smartphone design could change the way users interact with their devices. ReFlex, developed by researchers at Queen’s University, uses ’bend sensors’ to control app interactions, and simulates physical forces through detailed vibrations.

一款柔性智能机能改变用户与设备的交互方式，由加拿大皇后大学研究人员开发的ReFlex柔性手机实现了这一可能。ReFlex采用弯曲传感器来控制应用程序，并通过不同的振动级别来模拟物理力度。

According to its creators, consumers might be able to get their hands on the bendy smartphone within the next five years.

手机开发者称，消费者将有望在未来五年内接触到这款可弯曲智能手机。

If you hold a book open and bend it in the middle, the pages will begin to turn. A deeper bend will flip the pages more quickly. ReFlex works on a similar principle, explains Roel Vertegaal, director of the Human Media Lab at Queen’s University, where the phone was created.

如果你手中拿着一本打开的书，从中间弯曲，页面就开始翻动，弯曲的幅度越大，翻阅的速度就越快，ReFlex的运行原理与之相似，皇后大学人类媒体实验室主管洛尔·维特加尔解释道。

The design combines multitouch with bend input, allowing a user to control actions on the phone by bending it.

该手机设计结合了多点触摸与弯曲输入功能，允许用户通过弯曲手机屏幕实现手机的操作控制。

This means that a person can flip through pages on a virtual book just by bending the phone, and it will produce feedback that mimics the real sensation.

这意味着一个人可以通过弯曲手机来实现虚拟书本翻页，而手机能产生仿真的反馈。

’This represents a completely new way of physical interaction with flexible smartphones,’ said Vertegaal. ’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.

“这代表了柔性智能手机与物理互动的全新结合方式，”维特加尔说道，“当智能手机从右边向下弯曲时，页面将从右至左从手指间划过，就像我们看书那样，弯曲的幅度越大，翻阅的速度越快。”

’Users can feel the sensation of the page moving through their fingertips via a detailed vibration of the phone,’ Vergegaal said. ’This allows eyes-free navigation, making it easier for users to keep track of where they are in a document.’

“用户可以通过手机振动感受到页面在指尖划过的感觉，”维特加尔说，“这样用户在看文档时就无需用眼睛导航，看到哪里只需弯曲屏幕翻动即可。”

The phone has a high definition 720p LG Display Flexible OLED touchscreen, and uses an Android 4.4 KitKat board mounted on the side.

该款手机有720p高清分辨率，采用LG开发的柔性OLED触摸屏，操作系统是安卓4.4KitKat，主板被安装在屏幕的两侧。

In the back, bend sensors detect the forces applied to the screen, and a voice coil produces tactile feedback through vibrations.

手机的背部，弯曲传感器负责监测施加在屏幕上的力度，还有一个音圈能通过振动产生触觉反馈。

According to the researchers, ReFlex is the first smartphone with full-colour, high resolution, and wireless capabilities to operate in this way.

据研究人员表示，ReFlex是首款全彩色、高分辨率、支持无线的柔性手机。

’When a user plays the ’Angry Birds,’ game with ReFlex, they bend the screen to stretch the sling shot.

当玩《愤怒的小鸟》时，弯曲屏幕就能调整发射角度。

The prototype will be unveiled at the tenth anniversary Conference on Tangible Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI) conference in Eindhoven, The Netherlands on February 17, and the researchers say it may hit the market in just five years.

这一原型机将于2月17日在荷兰埃因霍温召开的触知与嵌入式互动10周年大会上揭晓，研发者表示，这一手机有望在未来5年内投入市场。