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Video: Flexible OLED display for your MJOLNIR armor
As promised, Universal Display Corporation had its 4-inch, flexible, wrist-worn OLED display designed for military use (and nerds) here at CES. Master Chief would be proud. See what we mean after the break.
HP and ASU demo bendable, unbreakable electronic displays
Well, what do you know? Nearly four years after Arizona State University opened its very own flexible display center comes this, a prototype device that's purportedly easy to manufactur, easy on the environment and practically as strong as Thor. HP and ASU have teamed up to demonstrate the fresh e-displays, which are constructed almost entirely of plastic and consume far less power than traditional computer monitors. The "unbreakable displays" were crafted using self-aligned imprint lithography (SAIL) technology invented in HP Labs, and while we'd love to see this in a pliable laptop at CES 2009, we suspect it'll be a few years yet before these slither out to the commercial realm.Update: HP Labs pinged us with this tidbit on the image above. "This image from the Flexible Display Center at ASU represents what the flexible display, a paper-like computer display made entirely of plastic, could look like in the future."
Samsung concept phone unfolds to hypnotize onlookers with flexible OLED
Cellphones are caught in this awkward spot where they've got to be small -- like pocketable, doesn't-look-ridiculous-on-your-face small -- and yet somehow big enough to pack an expansive, pretty display that's capable of displaying a lot of stuff at once. That's a paradox that has forced manufacturers into some curious form factors over the years, but ultimately, if you want to somehow cram the desktop viewing experience into a device the size of a pack of cigarettes, you're probably going to need something that projects, rolls, or folds. That's where Samsung's new concept phone shown off at the FPD International show in Yokohama comes into play, opening like a book to reveal a flexible OLED big enough to handle those cute puppy videos that no plain-vanilla, 2.5-inch display can do justice. There's no word on when a so-equipped handset might see production -- but we think it's appropriate that it's being shown off in Japan in all places, if you catch our drift. Follow the break for a video of the display in action.
Shinoda's 125-inch curved plasma to hit assembly lines by May, all 7.9-pounds of it
As showcase displays push to 150-inches and beyond, we won't blame you if you missed Shinoda's surprisingly lightweight (7.9-pounds) 125-inch curved plasma when it was first unveiled back in May. Especially since it manages a rather paltry 960 x 360 pixels from that trio of joined, 1-meter wide (1-mm thin!) flexible plasma panels. The fact that it's going production in April/May of next year is certainly notable, even if the first applications will be limited to digital signage. Baby steps, right?
Another flexible circuit project emerges, carbon nanotubes to blame
Yeah, we get it, flexible electronics -- sans application -- are about as exciting as the circuitry under your keyboard. But it's Friday, and this here story has real-live carbon nanotubes, so you know it's a winner. Takao Someya of the University of Tokyo has built for himself a stretchy, flexible conducting material using carbon nanotubes mixed with a polymer. The nanotubes are mixed into a compound called "bucky gel" to prevent clumping, and after some rubber-like flourinated copolymer is mixed in and it's all poured onto a glass plate, holes are punched in the material to better flexibility. Apparently it ends up looking a bit like a nylon stocking, but we won't hold that it against it, since it can be stretched up to 38%, while also managing to be 100 times more conductive than any other elastic material. The possibilities for such technology is pretty much endless, but we'd say "nylon stocking that is also, conveniently, a computer" is the first product category worth felling.[Via I4U]
E Ink fits Vizplex displays into Casio, Hitachi handsets
For those still thinking that flexible displays are far from being widely accessible, think again. E Ink has just announced that its Vizplex Imaging Film-based displays will be used in handsets by Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications. For starters, the Hitachi W61H (already available) boasts a 2.7-inch E Ink display that can scroll through 96 different images whenever a call is received or the clamshell is cracked open; the Casio G'zOne (shown after the jump) will feature the same technology on its secondary "silhouette display." Details beyond that are pretty scant, but the real news here is that these displays are finally making their way into reasonably affordable handsets. Open up the flood gates, we say.[Via SlashPhone]
Networks of carbon nanotubes find use in flexible displays
Carbon nanotubes may very well kill you (okay, so that's very much a stretch), but you'll have a hard time convincing the dutiful scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to stop their promising research. Put simply (or as simply as possible), said researchers have discovered that "networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes printed onto bendable plastic perform well as semiconductors in integrated circuits." So well, in fact, that the nanotube networks could one day "replace organic semiconductors in applications such as flexible displays." Granted, there is still much to do before these networks are ready for product integration, but you can bet these folks aren't hitting the brakes after coming this far.
Motorola envisions flexible handset keypads, displays
Granted, Motorola's latest patent application is really about a dreamy user interface system, but it's the allusions to a flexible keypad / display that really has our imaginations tingling. Put simply, the firm draws up plans to concoct rollable cellphone parts that have an "active and inactive" position. More specifically, a reservoir of electrorheological fluid could be used to stiffen the display or keypad when a call came in, and when the current was taken away, the phone could once more be rolled up and dropped into the smallest of pockets (or an M&M's Minis tube). A respectable idea, sure, but one that we definitely don't see happening here anytime soon.[Via UnwiredView]
Shinoda Plasma shows off slim, lightweight 43-inch display
Shinoda Plasma, a venture company spun from Fujitsu, was busy demonstrating a unique 43-inch panel at CEATEC that sports a pixel pitch of three-millimeters and is currently in prototype form. Reportedly, the device is made of "plasma tubes aligned and sandwiched between film-form electrodes," and it is based on the "same light-emitting theory as existing PDP technology." A boon to this, however, is its ability to be made much slimmer and lighter than current alternatives, as the flexible panel on stage was said to be one-millimeter thick and weigh just 1.76-pounds. Check out more pictorial delight after the jump.
Brando's illuminated, flexible keyboard ain't too pretty
We'll admit, we can't recall seeing a rollable silicon keyboard that deserved to be called gorgeous, but Brando's iteration isn't even close. 'Course, those enamored with glowing lights and plastic-y gizmos may not find much room to grumble, but all aesthetics aside, this thing is reportedly "strong, silent and indestructible." Moreover, the $27 device is said to be dustproof and water-resistant, can be connected via USB or PS/2 and comes in white, pink, blue and green.
Flexible displays created by stretching crystals
As researchers continue to forge ahead in their quest to create commercially viable flexible displays, a new team from Canada has apparently unearthed a breakthrough of sorts. Reportedly, the crew has been able to conjure up a full-color display which boasts pixels made from photonic crystals, and by "bonding them to an electroactive polymer that expands when a voltage is applied to it," the colors of the pixels change. According to André Arsenault of the University of Toronto, the newfangled devices "can be viewed just as well in bright sunlight as in indoor light," and if all goes as planned, we could be seeing a whole lot more of these promising units "in as little as two years" when the startup Opalux looks to fit these bendable creations into billboards, handheld gadgetry, and anything else it deems fit.[Image courtesy of MSNBC, thanks Alan]
Researchers develop bendable, paper-based battery
Nah, the researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute won't be crowned the first to develop a flexible (or paper-based, for that matter) battery, but their minuscule prototype "is an integrated device, not a combination of pieces" as others typically are. The battery uses "paper infused with an electrolyte and carbon nanotubes that are embedded in the paper," and could eventually be utilized in combination with solar cells or "scaled up and shaped into something like a car door, offering moving electrical storage and power when needed." Currently, however, the wee samples can release just "2.3-volts, or enough to illuminate a small light," but the idea of using these things to power pacemakers and the like isn't that far fetched.[Via BBC, thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Sony's world's first 16.7 million color flexible OLED
Oh boy, another bendy display we won't likely see on the market any time soon. This time it's Sony's turn to tout with this, their 2.5-inch, 160 x 120 pixel OLED display on a flexible plastic film. Better yet, this organic TFT delivers a relatively stellar 16.7 million colors compared to the 262k and 16k colors Samsung and LG.Philips, respectively, were showing off last week. That's a world's first 24-bit color depth for these types of displays. Take that Samsung. The display also measures a mere 0.3-mm thin which easily bests the hapless Korean (and Dutch) giants. The only downside (if you call it that) is the display's "greater than" 1000:1 contrast ratio compared to Samsung's 10,000:1 rating. But by now you've learned to take contrast measurements with a grain of salt, right?[Via Impress]
Conceptual Flexi PDA boasts rubber hinges, flexible display
Just as Dell calls it quits on the PDA market and flexible displays become more and more common, it makes sense to see a concept device that takes advantage of both opportunities. The Flexi PDA, although still stuck on the drawing board, would present a rubber hinged handheld that could fold open much like a book, giving users a device that's a bit smaller and deeper than current alternatives. Additionally, the casing could easily be ruggedized in order to add water, dust, and shock proofing abilities for those with less delicate work spaces. As expected, this novelty would also pack a QWERTY keyboard, double as a cellphone, and triple as a media player should it ever hit the market, but for now we'll just have to settle with the above picture and a faint hint of hope.
Intel patent app reveals flexible display fabrication plans
No sooner than a furry display patent application surfaces from Philips, it looks like Intel has jumped on the patent-a-random-display bandwagon along with Apple and a few others. Of course, flexible displays have long since been a figment of reality, but the "method of fabricating flexible displays" patent tends to focus more on the snazzy new development methods than the screen itself. Essentially, Intel is looking to use a duo of flexible sheets to sandwich a "number of magnetic display elements" that have "magnetically controllable reflectivity" between the two; furthermore the location of the magnetic particles "with respect to the flexible non-conductive sheets determines the reflectivity of the pixel." The presumably conductive boards would eventually be aiming at cellphones, "portable web browsers," and GPS navigation systems, but considering the head start that quite a few competitors already have, we hope Intel engineers are a bit past the drawing board on this one.[Via UnwiredView]
Sony patents fold-up origami gadgetry
No, not that Origami. Sony is taking the term a bit more literally, and working on a technology to allow a device to be folded up to fit in your pocket, but which when unfolded becomes rigid for use. The whole unit, body and screen, would be made from a flexible material and contain conductive rubber bracing struts with some gel of aluminosilicate particles suspended in silicone oil mixed in for good measure. When zapped with a little bit of electricity, the struts harden almost instantly, allowing you to use the gadget in its proper state. The patent goes on to suggest the possibility of using this technology in conjunction with a video game in response to on-screen action. Unfortunately, our magic 8 ball says the signs aren't looking too hot for seeing something like this in action any time soon.[Via New Scientist]
Micro Reactor System's flexible electronic curtain
Since you probably don't want every surface in your house of the future illuminated, Micro Reactor System has come up with a solution to make curtains that are a bit more practical but equally futuristic. Their flexible electronic "curtain" consists of two plastic panels with liquid crystal molecules in between them, which can be activated to make the curtain totally opaque, but are clear when turned off. It's apparently possible to make them in different colors as well, although it doesn't seem like one curtain can display more than one color. Like most things that we really, really want, there's no word yet on pricing or availability.
