Google patents AR-based pop-up books
Who needs to read when you can watch your literature instead?
Google has filed a pair of patents with the USPTO that aim to reinvent how we interact with printed media. The first patent is for an "Interactive Book" with motion and pressure sensors embedded within its pages. The sensors would launch visual assets via augmented reality whenever the reader activates them, say, by turning a page. The user wouldn't need actual AR glasses; instead a small device seated on the book's spine would project the visuals onto the pages. An embedded speaker would further enhance the onpage action.
Google's second patent is for the Interactive Book's spiritual predecessor, the "Media Enhanced Pop-up Book." Rather than using a micro-projector, the MEPB leverages a phone or tablet to deliver added content. Every page of this book has a secondary, digital page that "opens" vertically on the mobile device. Of course, as with all patents, there is absolutely no guarantee these will actually become real products -- or even prototypes, for that matter.
