• Two students from Insa in Rennes have just developed a small recycled plastic accessory that allows you to hold your book with one hand.

  • The Lizia can also be transformed into a lamp and a bookmark.

  • The object should be available for sale at the end of the year in bookstores and online.

Will they win a medal at the next Lépine competition?

The invention of these two young people from Rennes shines in any case by its ingenuity.

Fourth-year students at the National Institute of Applied Sciences (Insa) on the Beaulieu campus in Rennes, Lucas Moysan and Cédric Le Guern have just developed a little gadget that could soon delight readers.

Called Lizia, it aims to make reading easier by allowing one-handed reading, something that is not always very pleasant or practical.

The idea germinated in the brain of Cédric Le Guern during his high school years.

“He had a hard time keeping his book open when he was in bed and so started tinkering with a prototype with his 3D printer,” says Lucas Moysan.

Shelved, the project resurfaced two years ago when the two 21-year-olds met on the benches of Insa.

“I'm a big reader myself and I was immediately thrilled when he presented his project to me,” says Lucas.

In lamp or bookmark mode

To avoid twisting your wrist when reading with one hand, page holders or reading rings already exist.

But some of its objects are quite bulky and also do not offer all the features of the Lizia.

Because in addition to allowing you to hold your book effortlessly and without damaging the pages and the binding, the little gadget, which weighs 27 g and measures 10 cm, also acts as a reading lamp.

All thanks to a small led loupiote installed just above the flexible part where you slide your thumb.

Once the reading is finished, the clip-shaped object also transforms with a simple gesture into a bookmark.

"We wanted a simple but very functional object," says the young man.

Before launching it on the market, the two students had their find tested by several hundred readers.

“We had a lot of positive feedback, assures Lucas.

But we also discovered a lot of new uses.

Some told us that they used it to read in their bath or on public transport, others that it allowed them to drink their coffee at the same time”.

In June, the two friends also embarked on a Tour de France to meet booksellers.

"There aren't that many accessories for reading and they seemed packed," continues the young man.

Available for sale at the end of the year

Their crowdfunding campaign launched at the end of May on Ulule is also a hit.

They hoped at the base to reach the milestone of 100 pre-orders which would have allowed them to launch a first production.

The goal was finally reached in less than 24 hours and they are now at 2,744 pre-orders while the campaign ends on July 13.

Available in five colors and made from recycled plastic, the Lizia should be sold by the end of the year in all good bookstores as well as online, at a price of around 19 euros.

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