WhammyPhone: Bending Sound with a Flexible Smartphone

KINGSTON – Researchers at the Human Media Lab at Queen’s University have developed the world’s first musical instrument for a flexible smartphone. The device, dubbed WhammyPhone, allows users to bend the display in order to create sound effects on a virtual instrument, such as a guitar or violin.

“WhammyPhone is a completely new way of interacting with sound using a smartphone. It allows for the kind of expressive input normally only seen in traditional musical instruments.” says Dr. Vertegaal.

WhammyPhone features a Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode (FOLED) touchscreen display that shows keys that can be used to play sounds on sound synthesis software running on a computer. Like the ReFlex flexible smartphone, WhammyPhone is also equipped with a bend sensor, which allows for the user to bend the phone as a means of manipulating the sound.

Researchers at Queen’s University’s Human Media Lab have developed the world’s first full-colour, high-resolution and wireless flexible smartphone to combine multitouch with bend input. The phone, which they have named ReFlex, allows users to experience physical tactile feedback when interacting with their apps through bend gestures.

“This represents a completely new way of physical interaction with flexible smartphones” says Roel Vertegaal (School of Computing), director of the Human Media Lab at Queen’s University.

“When this smartphone is bent down on the right, pages flip through the fingers from right to left, just like they would in a book. More extreme bends speed up the page flips. Users can feel the sensation of the page moving through their fingertips via a detailed vibration of the phone. This allows eyes-free navigation, making it easier for users to keep track of where they are in a document.”