A mobile device with flexible display; the design of a user friendly form factor using flexible materials

A mobile device with flexible display; the design of a user friendly form factor using flexible materials

Regter, J.

Kuijk, J.I. (mentor)
Van Dijk, R.S.J. (mentor)
Van Heur, R.J.H.G. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Industrial Design

IPD

2011-07-08

This design project is executed for the company Polymer Vision, which is specialized in designing innovative consumer products with the integration of flexible displays. This integration has proved to raise complex design issues and an integration of the flexible displays with a flexible material could help to overcome these issues. With a user centered design approach the project started with a broad scope on the mobile market and potential new markets. During research in the analyzing phase fundamental problems with laptops in education have come to light. Further research revealed these problems are limiting the learning performance of students and are internationally universal. At schools a vision to overcome these problems is absent and despite large investments, currently there is a counter movement to be seen back to using traditional study books. By framing these problems from both the perspective of the students and teachers, it became clear how their needs are different and why these problems exist. After the analysis different concepts were evaluated with students with models and sketches to test which kind of form factor or device they thought could help them with their study and provide practical mobile use. During the concept development a solution was found for the integration of the flexible display and a flexible material, which simplifies the mechanical construction. Further elaboration focused on the shape, construction, look and feel, interaction and product proposition. The product aims to overcome the interaction limitations by offering barrier-free teaching in classrooms and stimulate learning beyond school times with its compactness and versatility. This results in more direct contact with students both inside as outside the classroom. The teacher is able to individually control the software functionalities of The Booc when located in the classroom to place him in control and distractions of the students can be reduced. A prototype of the final design was tested with both students and teachers, and the product proposition was evaluated with the school management. The tests showed that the product fits in the lives of the students and that the problems of working with laptops are solved. The results suggest that with the product the learning performance of students could be improved and the current counter movement in digital education can be overcome.

flexible display
polymer vision

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:520a3299-375b-42bd-ab2a-a706f7d7ac66

2012-07-08

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2011 Regter, J.