A new textbook publishing method that uses infrared technology to combine traditional books with digital content might ultimately decrease the cost of textbooks, make them much more interactive for users, and remove barriers for students who have difficulty accessing traditional texts.

The interactive textbook works a lot like LeapFrog's popular LeapPad reading device, where a paper book sits inside a cradle that contains touch-sensitive panels. But instead of accessing audio files stored on a cartridge, the book calls up video, audio, or other multimedia content by sending an infrared signal to a nearby internet-connected computer or a DVD player connected to a television.

"The book becomes a remote control, so to speak," said Jason Barkeloo, president of TouchSmart Publishing LLC, a company that is planning to make math, science, and special-needs textbooks using the so-called "Smartpaper" technology.

A student studying polynomials, for example, could read the assigned chapter and then touch a diagram with his or her finger to pull up a 30-second video clip of a teacher working through a problem, or an audio file of another teacher explaining the problem in a different way.

"Just by touching a picture or text, you go right to a digital or audio file or a web site," said Alan Chaplin, chief executive officer of Smartpaper Networks Corp., a four-year-old start-up company that developed the Smartpaper technology.

The book's electronic components are housed in what looks like an oversized DVD case. "The difference is, the case contains touch-sensitive panels on either side," Chaplin said.

The technology reportedly works with computers, game players, and DVD players--anything with an infrared receiver. The books are completely functional either offline or online, because each Smartpaper book will come with its own DVD that contains the multimedia content, such as movie clips and audio.

Many traditional books come with companion products such as DVDs, noted Chalplin, but "our product provides a more engaging and enriching experience. It takes two things that we are familiar with--print and video--and links them together."

Because DVD players now cost a fraction of the price of a multimedia computer, students without internet access or computers at home still can receive digital content. With a Smartpaper book, "the student can crawl up on the couch, push the picture of kinetic energy, and see the video on it," Barkeloo said.

Barkeloo also figures Smartpaper textbooks will cost less than traditional textbooks, because much of the content will be digital. "Books are priced on mass. If I have a physiology or anatomy textbook, that may be 500 pages," he said.

Additionally, Smartpaper books might better engage students in their textbooks. The technology "brings a new level of excitement, because I don't know what's hiding behind the content. It's like an Easter egg hunt," Barkeloo said.