Digital paper that can speak to you has been created by scientists.
The prototype display uses conductive inks, which are sensitive to pressure, and printed speakers.
Researchers from Mid Sweden University have constructed an interactive paper billboard that emits recorded sound in response to a user's touch.
The key to the billboard's capabilities is a layer of digital paper that is embedded with electronics.
This is printed with conductive inks, which, when applied with pressure, relay information to a micro-computer that contains recorded audio files. Sound then streams out from printed speakers, which are formed from more layers of conductive inks that sit over an empty cavity to form a diaphragm.
This functional layer is sandwiched between a thick sheet of extra-strong cardboard and another sheet of paper that is printed with the billboard's design.
At present, the displays are expensive to produce, but the researchers are aiming to find ways of lowering the costs to make the boards easier to change and replace.
