Sony have filed a new patent entitled, "Electric viscous fluid device and electronic equipment." It's been suggested that Sony may use the technology to enable small electronic devices, such as gaming handhelds and mobile phones, to be folded up when not being used and to be made firm again when you switch them on.

Using this technology means that the hardness, tension, texture or shape of the device could also be electrically controlled.

Patent description

An electrorheological fluid device and an electronic apparatus, which realize various hardness or tension in a portion of the device or apparatus to which a human body touches, enabling application to a product that needs to have portability. An electrorheological fluid device is formed by including: a container capable of containing fluid internally; a pair of electrodes having flexibility, disposed in the container so as to oppose each other; and an electrorheological fluid having an elastic property changeable in accordance with an electric field generated between the electrodes, the electrorheological fluid being contained in the container and disposed between the electrodes. By using the electrorheological fluid device to various electronic apparatus, the hardness, tension, texture, shape, or the like of the apparatus can be electrically controlled.

Not only could this make devices more portable but the technology could be used in game controllers to make them change shape in response to in-game scenarios. Sony have not yet commented on the new patent.

Source : Patent