Makers Scramble To Put Some Bend In ‘Electric Paper’
Glowing or reflecting may be the difference between e-paper and flexible e-paper. Certainly the need is there (at least for the Military).
…the race is on. The U.S. Army announced Tuesday it will spend $43.7 million over the next five years on a center at Arizona State University that will develop flexible electronic displays. The idea is to give soldiers a tiny, rugged readout of current data about enemy troops, weather and geography that could take a bullet and still flash marching orders.
A few weeks earlier, Royal Philips Electronics NV announced that next year it will start making a test line of bendable electronic displays, with release of a consumer product slated for 2006.
The ultimate goal of the electronic paper chase remains a display that can be twisted, folded and taken anywhere that paper can. Scientists say the key lies in plastics — putting circuits controlling the images onto backings made of pliable plastic instead of glass and metal. Recent advances in organic electronics and plastic transistors may finally get the technology around that corner. …
Analysts say e-paper looks more promising than ever but faces hurdles. “They are still black and white, and one real challenge will be finding a way to make the balls color,” said Kimberly Allen, director of technology and strategic research for iSuppli/Stanford Resources. …
He envisions it going mainstream with a six-inch tube that fits into anyone’s pocket. Electric paper will roll in and out of the tube like a window shade, he said, with the tube’s innards serving as a writing mechanism, rearranging pixels on ultrathin plastic screens. Overhead, a satellite will beam signals to the tube, letting people read their e-mail, check out books and download newspapers from a gigantic library in the sky.