Smartphones have managed to become an integral part of our lives and also one of the most personal tools that we usually don’t want to share with anyone—no matter if it’s your best friend, family or a stranger. But what if there was a way that lets you share your phone with others without violating your privacy.
Researchers at the University of Calgary and University of Waterloo in Canada and Dartmouth College have built a prototype that comprises of three smartphones that fits into a 3D printed case that runs Android custom made sharing-oriented version. The OS allows the primary phone to access the other two phones’ apps and screen.
The other two smartphones are smaller in size compared to the primary device—one medium sized, while one tiny sized peripheral. When you slide the medium sized lendable phone out, a list of icons pops up on the display, allowing the owner to decide what apps they want to provide access to the other user. The tiny peripheral offers fewer options. The icons pops up with the help of NFC tags placed in the phones’ case that interact with the main phone’s NFC chip.
Teddy Seyed, a graduate student at the University of Calgary who’s working on the project, says, “Usually the first comment is, ‘Why would I want to carry three phones in my pocket?’”
According to the researcher, it forecasts a more thoughtful future where we may be willing to share what has become one of our most important possessions. The project will be showcased at a user interface conference in October and can be helpful for parents for sharing the phone with their kids. The device can also be used a multi-player video game system.
Seyed plans to begin making another version in the coming months. He hopes that he will be able to make it into a real smartphone—his vision is to make a phone that handles the bulk of the computing connected to shareable display-like gadgets instead of combining three different phones.
Major device makers such as Motorola and Andy Rubin’s Essential phone have introduced the concept of snapping accessories on the rear panel of the device. Seyed believes more focused approach of these phones could work, and he sees his project fitting in the same area.
