An experimental electronic paper book that is interactive when connected to a computer has been featured on Creative Applications Network.
Created by Waldek Węgrzyn at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, Poland, the “Electrolibrary” project transforms a custom paper book into an interface.
You can read the book like an ordinary printed book, according to the report. However, when connected to a computer you can get extra information, quotes, films, and animations by turning the pages and using touch-sensitive areas on the pages, according to the report.
The book is connected via USB cable, but the project envisions future possibilities with a WiFi interface or Bluetooth.
The project currently has three copies of the prototype book, which contains Waldek Węgrzyn’s thesis exploring the phenomenon of a book as an interface.
“The major inspiration is the manifesto “The topography of typography” published in 1923 by a graphic designer El Lissitzky which has also influenced the design of the book,” reports the Creative Applications Network.
Creative Network adds that “Waldek used teensy development board hidden in the cover and a set of circuits made of conductive paint printed with silk-screen method.”
The method enables one to detect which page is open and for the book to have touch-sensitive components in the illustrations.
” The book emulates a keyboard and communicates with javascript code on the website – no additional software required.”
