Researchers breathe new life into paper books with the Magic Bookmark


Date:
October 12, 2021
Source:
University of Surrey
Summary:
Engineers have developed a new, cost-effective, ecological
solution for augmenting the printed page with rich, up-to-date
digital content.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The University of Surrey has developed a new, cost-effective, ecological solution for augmenting the printed page with rich, up-to-date digital
content.

The development overcomes one of the most significant advantages e-books
have over paper books, helping paper maintain its strong position in
its competition with electronic media.


========================================================================== Researchers at the University of Surrey's Advanced Technology Institute
and Digital World Research Centre have designed an elegant and intuitive electronic system that allows the readers of a paper book to access
related multimedia content by simply placing a bookmark on a page. The
Magic Bookmark uses optical contrast sensors to discern a pattern
printed next to the book's spine on each page. Because no electronics
are embedded in the paper book, costs are minimised, and end-of-life
recycling is enabled.

The research, published in the peer-reviewed Advanced Intelligent Systems journal, explores several ways of making the system. After a series of prototypes, the optimised version uses an optical barcode printed along
page margins near the spine of the book and a detachable physical bookmark
with embedded sensors. Small, convenient and versatile, the final system
is simple to manufacture and can be detached from the paper to augment
other compatible books.

The system advances the concept of barcodes and QR codes, meaning the
sensors can read a wide variety of marks, including shades of grey and different colours. This makes the system customisable so that barcodes
can be hidden within images or made almost invisible to the human eye,
yet detectable by the sensors using a special off-white ink provided by industrial collaborator, Printcolor.

Prof David Frohlich, Project Lead and Director of the Digital World
Research Centre at the University of Surrey, said: "This solves
a problem with our earlier attempts to instrument every page with
electronics. The Magic Bookmark means books can be printed on regular
paper as usual, yet the electronics move through the book as you read
-- on a humble bookmark." Georgios Bairaktaris, PhD researcher at
the Advanced Technology Institute, said: "In Dr Radu Sporea's team,
we have been developing expertise in compact electronic devices for
sensing and interaction with the real world. We focus on minimalistic
solutions with a view of low-cost manufacturability and robustness during
use. It's important to us that there are responsible disposal options at
the end of products' life cycles as well." Next, the team is adapting
the system to use fully printed photosensors, which will make the Magic Bookmark indistinguishable from a conventional bookmark.

They aim to investigate how more everyday objects can be augmented with
printed electronics and used as interfaces to the digital world.

Learn more about the University of Surrey's undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Surrey. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Georgios Bairaktaris, Hristo Siderov, Deniz Celebiler, Corinne
Kolii,
David M. Frohlich, Radu A. Sporea. Magic Bookmark: A Nonintrusive
Electronic System for Functionalizing Physical Books. Advanced
Intelligent Systems, 2021 DOI: 10.1002/aisy.202100138 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211012130736.htm

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