Flexible - Page 9

The Flexible Display Center (at the Arizona State University) has developed a controller for a WowWee Rovio Robot using a flexible E Ink display:

Toppan Printing has developed and prototyped a new solution-processed TFT using transparent amorphous oxide semiconductor and a low-temperature manufacturing process. Toppan is using this to drive a flexible e-paper - they say that the new technology will enable cheap, light weight and flexible e-papers. 

Toppan is showing a 2" x 2" prototype, with a 80x60 resolution. The TFT substrate is made of glass, and the semiconductor material is a transparent amorphous oxide semiconductor.

Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) showed off a few flexible e-paper prototypes. One of these is a color e-reader touchscreen display. It's a Ch-LCD (cholesteric liquid crystal display), thin and light and consumes very little power, and should be cheap to make.

Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) will co-develop large-size flexible e-paper with AU Optronics. They will also co-develop large-size flexible touch panels with Elan Microelectronics. In the future they also plan to develop e-paper panels that will be ultra-thin, touch enabled, flexible and transparent.

Engadget reports that a Wistron manager says they plan to launch a flexible e-paper (5- to 6-inch) reader, based on the Readius in 2010.

The Readius

Bridgestone are developing their own e-paper technology, and are now showing a color touch screen flexible e-book reader. The whole reader is actually bendable!

The display is large (13.1"), with 4,096 colors, and a refresh rate of about 0.8 seconds. The reader also includes wireless (cellular) connectivity. Bridgestones will produce samples early next year.

AUO says they will release a 6" flexible e-paper next year (samples, anyway, with volume production to start afterwards). They are also showing a 20" e-paper module, which they say is the world's largest e-paper which is "ready for production". 

The 6" flexible e-paper is using Sipix's (owned by AUO) Microcup technology. It is made on a plastic substrate, and can be repeatedly bended. The curved radius reaches 100mm, it features 16 gray levels, 9:1 high contrast ratio and a reflectance of 33%. It consumes power only when the image is updated.

The 20" panel is very power efficient, requiring less thatn 2W. It also have 16 levels of gray.

Polymer Vision has been bought by an Asian company (we do not know the name yet). They will restart the development of foldable E Ink displays. Polymer Vision will retain about 80% of their employees.

Polymer Vision was about to release the Readius - an e-reader with a foldable E Ink display, and will continue development (although it might be a different product).

Plastic Logic are working towards a flexible E Ink display based E--Reader, and they say that they will start making the displays soon. The reader itself is expected to be available at the beginning of 2010, for about the same price as the Kindle.

Even though the display is flexible, the product itself will not be - as people do not really want a flexible display - they are afraid it will be easily destroyed... So this will be a regular E Reader, with a plastic based display.

Polymer Vision has had financial problems for a while, and back in April they delayed their flexible E Ink display based Readius reader. Now we hear that the company is bankrupt. This is sad - it would have been great to finally have a flexible display reader!

The Readius had a 16-grayscale 320x240 5" e ink based display. When closed the size is 115x57x21mm, and when you open the display, it's 160x115x21mm.