Last year, Lenovo unveiled a fantastic futuristic concept gadget Project CrystalIt was the world’s first transparent laptop MicroLED display. But today, as has become a tradition for Lenovo during IFA, the company is back with another demo notebook, this time equipped with a motorized swivel hinge.
Dubbed the Auto Twist AI PC, Lenovo’s latest concept looks almost like a traditional clamshell when closed. However, with a simple voice command, its lid automatically lifts and rotates to almost any position, even into tablet mode. With no official pricing or plans to bring the device to full production just yet, Lenovo says the Auto Twist is designed to provide improved fit, improved ergonomics and possibly better security. But for now, the company’s main goal is simply to see what environments or use cases can make the most of a laptop with such a new design.
Thanks to built-in object tracking, for example, Auto Twist can move the display and follow people walking around the room, which can be very useful when giving presentations. It can also detect a person’s body and possibly their posture before adjusting its display to the best position to reduce fatigue or stress.
Alternatively, the laptop can detect when it is not in use and close its lid to prevent unwanted users from gaining access. While Auto Twist’s AI tag seems a bit bogus, Lenovo hopes the laptop will be able to do most of these things on its own or through simple natural language voice control (the laptop currently supports commands to turn it into laptop mode and more).
After seeing this in person, the most immediate use case that came to mind was POS (point of sale) payment terminals. Here, staff often have to manually rotate the screen so the customer can see their total or add things like a tip. Granted, given how easy it is to twist the screen the old-fashioned way with your hands on the main hinge, Auto Twist seems like overkill in this case. At least from what I saw, the internal engine was not as smooth as you would like for commercial applications. But, it’s an interesting idea with potential for high-end luxury outlets.
Then there is only entertainment. During the demo, I watched Auto Twist play a clip of a dancer, its motorized hinge trying to adjust its screen to the person’s movements. I also found that the laptop flips its display horizontally to present an ultra-wide panoramic photo more attractively. In addition, like other bleeding technology foldable laptops displays suffer from a ton of extra weight and bulk, while the rotary servo on Lenovo’s latest concept is relatively inconspicuous and doesn’t greatly affect the device’s overall portability.
So while it remains to be seen how useful Auto Twist really is, or what it can become, I appreciate that Lenovo is still trying to find new ways to improve the classic clamshell laptop.
