The University of Bristol has unveiled six prototypes of shape-changing materials, termed morphees, that could be used in the next generation of smart devices.

The materials, which include shape memory alloy and electro active polymer, could enable devices to change shape on-demand depending on the service being used. Users could download an app that has an alternative form factor embedded into it, such as a stress ball, or a game app could transform the device into a console.

The team believes that shape resolution should added to the display and touch properties consumers and manufacturers are already familiar with. The Department of Computer Science, led by Dr Anne Roudaut and Professor Sriram Subramanian, will demonstrate its use of shape-shifting materials at the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Paris.

They are keen to investigate further the flexibility of the chosen materials along with other properties like how porous or stretchy a material is. The findings have been presented in the Morphees: Toward high “shape resolution” in self-actuated flexible mobile devices paper.

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