flexible display

HP Labs gazes into the future

SAN FRANCISCO--Memristors are arguably the most important thing HP Labs is working on--it could fundamentally change the memory chip industry--but its director has no problem talking about it openly.

While most hardcore research on future products is kept under heavy guard until it can be patented, HP Labs is insisting that forward-thinking technology research has to be done collaboratively and (mostly) in the open.

HP Labs underwent a major overhaul a year ago, shortly after bringing in new director Prith Banerjee. He whittled down the vast number of projects his researchers were devoted to, and laid out eight very specific … Read more

Army invests $50 million in flexible displays

The U.S. Army has committed to renewing its partnership and providing another $50 million to Arizona State University's flexible-display research facility, the university announced on Thursday.

That brings the Army's total investment since the Flexible Display Center (FDC) started in 2004 to $100 million.

The announcement comes in conjunction with a two-day event in Tempe, Ariz., near ASU, in which the U.S. Army and Flexible Display Center plan to showcase their progress to the public.

So why is the military so keen on flexible displays?

It's all about information and communications...and possibly profit.

Flexible displays are paper-thin electronic screens that can be bent, mounted onto objects, and sewn into clothing. Soldiers could easily wear them on their sleeves or wrists, and use them to receive critical data in real time in the form of instructions, photos, or maps.

In addition, flexible displays can be made more durable than regular LCD screens, allowing them to get banged around in combat and still work. They also consume only a fraction of the power of LCDs.

That doesn't just make them good for the military; it also makes for cool tech products.

That commercial value is something the military, ASU, and its partners clearly have in mind.… Read more

HP unveils displays that yields to the touch

As many of the comments on a post I wrote on Friday point out, I can at times be shortsighted to potential applications of new technology. When it comes to flexible display technology, however, I practically have telescopic vision. Well at least as far as Hollywood has shown me.

On Monday, Hewlett-Packard and the Flexible Display Center (FDC) at Arizona State University announced the purported first prototype of what they call affordable, unbreakable flexible electronic displays.

For the uninitiated, a flexible display is a paperlike computer display that's made almost entirely out of plastic. According to HP, these displays … Read more

Westinghouse's acrobatic HDTV

In our longstanding tradition of featuring gadgets that do yoga, Crave is pleased to announce a first in the illustrious category: a contortionist television set.

Westinghouse has created a "flip-style" HDTV that can actually be folded, to a degree, to fit into the most cramped areas and corners of any given abode. The front bezel of the dual-hinged "Flexible Lifestyle Display" can be rotated 180 degrees on a tabletop, according to Electronic House, or the TV can be suspended from the wall or bottom of a cabinet, trapeze-style.

The PT-16H610S must maintain a petite frame to … Read more

Infantry to lead the way with a new PDA

A collaboration between military R&D and industrial designers is bringing state-of-the-art PDA technology to Joe Snuffy out on the battlefield.

The Soldier Flex PDA (SFPDA) introduced by Inhand Electronics features flexible display technology with input from industrial design firm Artisent, display technology firm E-Ink and the U.S. Army Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University.

The PDA offers InHand's PXA270-based Fingertip4 CPU board, along with Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth and keypad interfaces all in a "ruggedized" glass-free package that weighs less than a pound. Best of all, the unique low-power characteristics of electronic paper displays … Read more