I can see it now - people on the subway reading the news, advertisements, or watching a music video on digital e-paper. I suppose you've seen the movie "Minority Report" as well, but now Fujitsu has announced the development of bendable color electronic paper that could mark the beginning of e-paper multimedia everywhere.
Anticipated Applications
By leveraging the features of this technology, a wide variety of applications can be envisioned for Fujitsu's new electronic paper as a digital medium that can be handled like paper.
Following are some examples:
- Transit advertising on trains, information displays on curved surfaces, and other public display applications that could take advantage of its light weight and flexibility. Information displayed can be updated based on the time of day, enabling more effective advertising and informational signage.
- Electronic shelf display tags, point-of-purchase displays, restaurant menus, and other in-store uses. Can also be used for pricing displays or product information displays that stand out in full color and can be readily updated.
- Operating manuals, work orders, and other short-term information displays, facilitating the trend toward paperless offices or factories.
- Text or images from mobile phones or other mobile devices can be transferred wirelessly to larger displays for easy viewing.
- Use in the home can offer more convenient digital-media devices that can be carried from room to room.
The new electronic paper features vivid color images that are unaffected even when the screen is bent, and features an image memory function that enables continuous display of the same image without the need for electricity. The thin and flexible electronic paper uses very low power to change screen images, thereby making it ideal for displaying information or advertisements in public areas as a type of new electronic media that can be handled as easily as paper.
