“Touch a Paper” System Design for Reading Utilizing Physical Touch

Every environment and tool in our lives has been increasingly digitized: watches, cameras, books, magazines, and other stationery goods. Most basic necessities are integrated into a smartphone. The digitization of our live has greatly contributed to the increased convenience. Yet, there are also lost attractions due to digitalization. For instance, people choose analog records for the pursuit of the sound quality and its design, rather than convenience. There are still so many unwelcoming the digitization of living environments and tools. A typical example is "books". While in recent years e-books are rapidly becoming widespread, many people choose "paper books" to enjoy reading. Part of the reason is assumed that reading books is not just about absorbing the information written in them, but it is about enjoying a sense of touch when turning the pages. In this research, we focus on "a sense of physical touch", the feeling of actually turning the pages of a paper book. We also design software and devices that provide users with a "sense of physical touch", often lost when reading an e-book on a smartphone.