Futuristic Paper Reflects Light Like 3D Objects and Might Just Save Printed Media

charge this one under Straight Out of Our Sci - Fi Dreams . When you shine a lightness on a photo from different angle , nothing befall to the image . But what if the phantasm on it could change as if it were a tangible , three - dimensional object ? That day is closer than you reckon .

HP , 3 M , and UC Santa Cruz ( go Banana Slugs ! ) have been cooperate ona truly singular labor . or else of using matted paper for photo impression ( which ca n’t deepen its pondering belongings ) , the researcher are creating a new form of newspaper with specular micro - geometry . In other tidings , it looks like steady flat newspaper to your eye , but its airfoil is actually covered in G of microscopic hill and valleys . We can print onto those tiny shapes to control the way the light ruminate from different angles . The result is that the target in a photograph would reflect light the same manner as the target would in real life . Or so your eye would perceive .

Clearly the applied science still has a ways to go . It seems they ’ve only been capable to get the dots down to a sure size of it , and so the images still look somewhat pixilated , and they can currently only do smutty and white so far , but they believe that to be just a topic of refining their fabrication techniques ( you canread the full report here ) . The video , which shows test copy - of - concept , is amazing . In an age of eReaders and tablet , where it seems we have fewer and fewer grounds grounds to hang on to printed medium , this could offer something those digital devices could n’t . If they can get it down to modern photo - tone , it could be revolutionary . [ UCSCviaFStoppersviaPetaPixel ]