Sci-fi tech arrives with this flexible phone with 3D holographic screen

The future of gadgets is filled with flexible and holographic technology. At least that's what sci-fi movies and the super-smart geeks in science labs developing the future keep telling us.

Researchers at Queen's University's Human Media Lab have created what they call the world's first flexible holographic smartphone. The Android-based smartphone prototype is called the HoloFlex.

When the HoloFlex is bent, the full HD (1,920 x 1,080) touchscreen is capable of displaying a glasses-free 3D image. A bend sensor inside lets users manipulate objects on the z-axis, adding three-dimensional depth input.

"HoloFlex offers a completely new way of interacting with your smartphone," writes Dr. Vertegaal, one of the researchers involved with the project. "It allows for glasses-free interactions with 3D video and images in a way that does not encumber the user."

There are several useful use cases for bendable holographic technology. In the video above, a user is able to manipulate a handle and re-orient it on a 3D model of a teapot. Other uses include bending the screen to control Angry Birds and using the phone's depth camera to initiate a holographic video conference.

"When bending the display users literally pop out of the screen and can even look around each other, with their faces rendered correctly from any angle to any onlooker," says Dr. Vertegaal.

A holographic video conference working on the HoloFlex.

IMAGE: QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY

The phone has respectable specs, including a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and 2GB of RAM.

The HoloFlex is still a prototype, but even so, it's already showing promise. Maybe a Star Wars-like reality filled with paper-thin, hologram-projecting devices is what the future of smartphones will look like after all.