The morphing, stretchable face of next generation phones

Take a leap into 2020 and you might find yourself with your hand on a mobile phone that can morph into different shapes, sense what's happening in the environment around you and provide you with electrotactile feedback when you touch it.

It seems like far-fetched technology out of a science fiction film, but in reality those are just some of the ideas being trialed behind the closed doors at Nokia's research and development center in Cambridge, UK.

Dr Tapani Ryhänen and a team of around 25 Nokia researchers are currently working on projects such as Nanowire Sensing, Stretchable Electronic Skin and Electrotactile Experience at Nokia's research center - some pretty far out ideas that could have a lasting impact on the future of mobile phone technology.

In the future Nanowire Sensing could help consumers keep watch on their immediate environment, getting real-time feedback on the amount of pollution in the air or the level of food-based contaminants near-by.

"The team involved in this project is effectively working on an artificial nose,"explained Nokia on September 28. "By placing a nanowire on top of a chip, they can train it to recognise different substances which are placed close to the sensing surface."

Nokia's Stretchable Electronic Skin concept could effectively change the shape of mobile phones in the future.

"Right now, circuit boards are solid. The team at Cambridge however are working on a technology that'll enable them to be flexible, creating something akin to 'electronic skin'" revealed Nokia.

"The possibilities might sound hard to believe, but working technology which can be twisted and distorted like a rubber band could enable a unique range of wearable devices or even enable technology to feasibly become part of our clothing."

The third technology on display at the research center is Nokia's "Electrotactile Experience." Nokia's goal is to replicate textures and deliver genuine tactile responses via the mobile device's touchscreen.

"This technology would enable a new level of feedback from touchscreen devices, taking our way of interacting with them to a whole new level," says Nokia.

For further information about Nokia's Nanowire Sensing, Stretchable Electronic Skin and Electrotactile Experience head to http://conversations.nokia.com/2010/09/28/beyond-morph-a-vist-to-nokia-research-centre-cambridge/.

Nokia has also released two YouTube videos explaining the research which can be found here:

Nanowire Sensing - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAX_WYopkpE&feature=player_embedded

Stretchable Electronic Skin - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOJ2QSioTA0&feature=player_embedded