Noted with amazement: “Talking paper made by scientists”

Excerpted from an article posted on 5 June 2007 on the BBC News Online.

Concluding questions by NWI. Comments and insight are sought.

“Digital paper that can speak to you has been created by scientists. . . . Researchers from Mid Sweden University have constructed an interactive paper billboard that emits recorded sound in response to a user’s touch. . . . The prototype display uses conductive inks, which are sensitive to pressure, and printed speakers.

“Mikael Gulliksson, who led the research project, told the BBC News website: “When you approach the billboard and put your hand on a postcard that shows a picture of a beach, you can hear a very brief description of that beach.” . . . This functional layer is sandwiched between a thick sheet of extra-strong cardboard and another sheet of paper that is printed with the billboard’s design.

“There could be a whole range of applications,” he added.

Questions:

• What type of mind is so fertile as to come up with such concepts?
• What is the next step in this technological progression?
• What might be the unexpected results – positive and negative – of talking paper?
• What might be the “whole range of applications” for talking paper?
• What’s the value of this range of applications?

NotedWithInterest@gmail.com

- NWI staff

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