A Paper Tablet – Back to Shuffling Papers

Call me old fashioned, but I like to write things down and print things out. Especially as an editor, it is so much easier for me to get out the trusty red pen and draw all types of cryptic markings than for me to read/edit something on the computer. Soon I could have the best of both worlds. Human Media Lab has created a working prototype of a paper-thin tablet computer.

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According to an article in PopSci, the paper-like tablets communicate with one another to make working "more like shuffling papers." The product, which comes out of research at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada, is named PaperTab.

PaperTab looks and feels like a sheet of paper, except it has a high resolution 10.7" plastic display which is a fully-interactive, flexible, touchscreen. PaperTab can file and display thousands of paper documents, replacing the need for a computer monitor and stacks of papers or printouts. Unlike traditional tablets, PaperTabs keep track of their location relative to each other and the user, providing a seamless experience across all apps, as if they were physical computer windows.

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PaperTab has a unique user interface which makes them work more like actual pieces of paper. They are designed to work in clusters of up to ten tablets and the user can control various screens at once. This means that you can have several documents or apps running at once and work across several PaperTabs to execute tasks while moving thing around between them. The whole process sounds very complicated, but it is better explained with this video. Instead of swipe gestures, the corner of the notebook is dog-eared one way or another (i.e. push it forward to fast-forward or turn a page.)

My favorite function is the ability to link multiple tabs together to extend the viewing screen and allowing you to click and drag, as well as draw/write on the screen. As someone who organizes information on a daily basis, I could see the benefit of being able to click and drag text from one line to another without losing my spot (like I always do on the computer). Being able to handwrite my notes on a screen and then link it with the actual task would be pretty great too. People remember 70% of the things they write down, so having that notebook-like functionality would feel seamless.

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I'm excited about where this product is heading and the potential it has to streamline work and make information more tactile, which is something I miss at work.