Adam Oliver, head of the programme, said: “The technology has obvious implications for those who are disabled or elderly and have difficulty using a fiddly laptop keyboard or mouse.

“We also wanted to create an interface that was simple and intuitive. Standard ways of controlling PC applications can be too complicated, so we decided to use the analogy of a book to work with.

"What we ended up with gives you the same look and feel of picking up a book and reading it but in a 3D digital format.”

Oliver added: “We quickly realised that it could have other commercial applications such as someone needing to use their laptop in conditions where trying to type or manipulate a tiny keyboard is tricky or where they are unable to use both hands, such as an engineer or technician working in the field needing to navigate quickly round maps or diagrams, or even someone just using their laptop on a crowded train.

“The software is extremely adaptable and can be used in all sorts of ways for example, it could be programmed in so that a user could make or connect an incoming internet voice call or to access digital pictures simply by tilting and tipping the computer.”
{moscomment}