Let us take you back to 2008, when the Nokia Research Center and the University of Cambridge developed a nanotechnology concept device called the Morph
. The Morph was used to demonstrate the concept of a flexible device that could change shape depending on a user’s preference.
Fast-forward to current day and it looks as though Nokia is serious about a patent. In an application that was made public by the USPTO today, it appears that Nokia started a patent application back in September of 2010.
The patent, called “Apparatus with Elastically Transformable Body”, essentially describes most of things we saw in the Morph concept, but remains vague enough to allow a variety of materials to be used in the final execution. The patent calls for a transformable body that can be elastically stretched between at least 2 configurations that also includes the ability for user input, wireless link, processor, memory, and the ability to output to the user or wireless transmit output to a remote processing unit. Nokia also presents the possibility of using its invention with an adhesive or wrapping it around a body part to effectively wear the device.
This description can make this device either a phone or a type of phone accessory. Either way, it is pretty futuristic. While the patent hasn’t been granted yet, it is a pretty cool look at what the distant future of mobile technology could potentially look like.