Mobile technology has the unique experience of allowing us to connect with technology on the go, but as mobile devices advances, it aims recreates the same experience as being on the desktop. However, there are developments that will set apart the user experience and functionality of mobiles devices vs static ones. The one that I will focus on today is the innovation of transparent mobile devices.
This is one of my favorite clips of my early adulthood fascination with technology. Tony Stark’s transparent mobile device allowed him to interact with the world in a different way.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to be able to interact with your world through on-demand AR technology?
Well, the dream is coming true. Recently, transparent screens have been an area of interest for many tech companies, with the most prominent ones being LG and Samsung. Currently, the technology is commercially available in TVs, but adding on a touch screen piece will be critical for this to turn into the educational tool that could change the way we interact with our devices.
Picture by Snoreyn and LetsGoDigital
Well, this brings us to the million dollar question, are transparent devices going to be useful?
(Spoiler alert, I think yes)
One of the biggest barriers to having transparent devices is the fact that the technology behind it is extremely difficult to produce. In order to have transparent devices, we would have to firstly create transparent circuits, batteries, cameras, and wires. Fortunately, these concepts are well into their development, but without the functional optimization that allows for them to be used. For instance, there exists a transparent battery that works, but does not have the energy density required to power a device for a usable amount of time (Wehner et al. 2021). This doesn’t even account for the fact that these mechanical issues would also translate to a phone that would be difficult to make and expensive for people to own. The calibration of the screen will also be an issue. With a transparent screen, it becomes a tightrope walk to make ensure that your content is visible while also being visible enough to see beyond it. With the current set of technologies, these screens are only effective against a dark background.
Furthermore, in order to take advantage of the hardware, there must be operating systems and user interface created that can account for all the differences in having a transparent screen, not to mention AI technology that allows the phone to see and identify what you see as well. For context, this would be similar to the part of Iron Man 2 where Tony Stark aims his device at a TV to interact with it. The short of it is that it will take a LOT of time and effort in order to make this technology feasible for mobile and educative usage.
However,
When functional technology for transparent screens becomes available, the entire game will change. As we use our phones, we are always trying to find newer and better ways of interacting with it. We tried adding various buttons or touch surfaces on the sides and the back, we made some phone squeezable, and we have a lot of Bluetooth devices that connects to our phone. But, with transparent technology, we would be able to add in another dimension to interacting with our devices as well as interacting with our world through our devices.
With a transparent screen, the interactable surfaces of the phone could expand towards the back as well as the front. This means that potentially, you would be able to use the phone from the back. This could be a trend that could fundamentally change the ways we use our devices. For educational purposes, this could allow different forms of collaboration and interaction opportunities.
Picture as a part of the patent submitted by Lee, D (2020).
On the software side, the implementations of the technology could allow for some very interesting applications, as seen used by our favorite superhero. If the current limitations of AI recognition and hardware could be overcome, then it would allow for more flexibility in AR interaction. Currently, devices such as the Microsoft HoloLens are either worn, or not. With transparent phones, the option to have on demand augmented interactions with your environment becomes possible. Imagine the option to take out your phone and to tap on a foreign language or a math problem in order for the phone to automatically recognize it and assist you in what you want to do or to point at a laptop or tv to transmit or receive content.
As always with technology, we are exploring the unknown. With transparent phones, it might be a while before they come to fruition. The patents and the ideas started way back in 2013 according to Ani, without any fruition to their investment. But if we do reach an place where transparent phones are a feasible part of our mobile culture, I believe that it could create large scale changes in how we interact with our devices and how we can use them to interact with our world.
About the Author
Hi! I’m Wynn.
I’m a new middle and high school teacher and an experienced gamer. Through my childhood and undergrad, I was surrounded and engrossed by the idea of games, so much that I had a short stint as a semi-professional League of Legends player. My Bachelors in Psychology allowed me to gain insights on what motivates people and how to use these points of access to encourage authentic learning. I often advocate the idea of a fusion of technology and naturalistic learning pedagogy, and it showed in my years as an educational assistant, using technology to fulfill my students needs, both the ones with learning disabilities and the ones who just needed a different way to engage with the material. I keep up with all the new technological ideas by following tech expos and being current on the various patents of imaginative technology that comes up and fervently look for new ideas that I could pull into my teaching practice.
References
Ani. (2013, December 06). Samsung patents tech for ‘transparent dual-side OPERABLE TOUCHSCREEN’ PHONES. Retrieved April 05, 2021, from https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/story/samsung-patents-tech-for-transparent-dual-side-operable-touchscreen-phones-219902-2013-12-06
Feige, K. (Director). (2019, May 03). Tony stark at the court hearing. Iron Man 2 [Video file]. Retrieved April 04, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E9bscLGTAA&t=219s&ab_channel=Ultra4khdClipsUltra4khdClips
Jurrien, I. (2020, September 07). Samsung Galaxy smartphone Met Transparant display. Retrieved April 05, 2021, from https://nl.letsgodigital.org/smartphones/samsung-telefoon-doorzichtig-scherm/
Lee, D. (August 27, 2020). U.S. Patent No. US 2020/0273926 A1. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Pleasants, J., Clough, M. P., Olson, J. K., & Miller, G. (2019). Fundamental issues regarding the nature of technology. Science & Education, 28(3-5), 561-597. doi:10.1007/s11191-019-00056-y
Wehner, L. A., Mittal, N., Liu, T., & Niederberger, M. (2021). Multifunctional batteries: Flexible, transient, and transparent. ACS Central Science, 7(2), 231-244. doi:10.1021/acscentsci.0c01318
Hi Wynn,
This is a great concept, and it’s great to see Tony Stark’s device become a reality. I think it may help people to be able to be more in the present, being able to see the real world, even when interracting with your device. It will revolutionize travel and tourism.
Have you considered how this will affect learning environments as well? How can these devices be used in the classroom?
Hi Emma
Thanks for your thoughts! My view on this is that transparent touch screens requires a strong AI system and a way to interact with the world behind the screen in order for it to be effective. This allows for students to work in different ways such as a bigger panel with students being able to work on both sides of it or for students to be more involved with their classroom environment. Currently, my students use their laptops and is engrossed with the world in the screens. Transparent screens would give them the opportunity to go beyond their screen and look at the world behind it. It could turn the entire world into a canvas and allow for better space usage as any surface could become a work surface.
Hi Wynn,
Thanks for the overview about the potential of transparent screens. It’s fun to think about the different possibilities. My mind tends to go towards AR and what new experiences a transparent device might open up. Do you see advantages of a transparent handheld mobile device over wearables like glasses? Is it the same technology that is used in something like Google Glass?
Hi Janice
The technology would be more advanced than Google Glasses and AR technology. Current AR technology has the transparent screen, but with the inputs elsewhere such as on the sides of the glasses or with controllers or uses a camera to interact with the world. Touchable transparent screens allow you to interact with things on the screen to even things behind the screen, similar to how Tony Stark does in the Marvel movies. It’s quite a bit harder to produce, as the patents have been around for years, but allow for more ways of interaction (such as touching the back of your screen) and more on-demand AR rather than wearing glasses the entire time.