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With this smartphone case, pinch-to-zoom really means pinch-to-zoom

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By Alan Friedman

Published: Oct 21, 2019, 9:22 PM

Imagine if the back of your phone was covered in a flesh-like material that actually can be pinched and tickled. Sounds sort of, well, gross, right? NewScientist reports about such a protective case for your phone that uses an artificial skin that users can pinch to zoom in or out, or they can tap on it to make a selection. A user can even slide his or her fingers on the skin to scroll up or down the display.

Created by Marc Teyssier at Telecom Paris, the skin can also detect the emotions of a user. Hard pressure on the skin indicates anger, tapping on it is a sign that the user is trying to get attention while stroking means that the user is trying to provide comfort. Teyssier says that he came up with the idea because "I wanted to pinch my phone." Two prototypes of the skin have been created. One looks just like human skin while the other has a "more uniform surface." Plans are to add embedded hair and temperature features.

Besides being used on the back of a phone, the "Skin-on" interface can connect to a laptop and be employed as a touchpad, or even find a home on a smartwatch band. Despite all of these possible applications, Teyssier didn't exactly announce that there are plans to sell this to the public in some form. And frankly, we're not so sure that many would buy a case for their phone that looks like flesh. However, this could be the perfect case to put your phone in for Halloween, which coincidentally is only a week and a half away.

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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