Paintable LCDs

frambooz writes "Nature Magazine has an article about a team from the Eindhoven University of Technology and Philips Research Laboratories in the Netherlands, who discovered a way to create 1 layer paintable LCD-screens. It can be used on glass and plastic already, and fabric in the near future. 'Homes of the future could change their wallpaper from cream to cornflower blue at the touch of a button, says Dirk Broer. His team has developed paint-on liquid crystal displays (LCDs) that offer the technology. (...) The technique could create giant TV screens, digital billboards and walls that change colour. Slim, plastic LCDs sewn into fabric could display e-mail or text messages on your sleeve.' Which leads to another problem: with an LCD-suit, where would you put which app?" There's also an AP article.

Comments

invisibility

[Fucky the troll]

You could use this stuff on fabric along with tiny video cameras to create predator-style invisibility.

Club heads

[Mattygfunk]

An LCD outfit would be a hit at raves and clubs. Your gear would become the ultimate glowstick. Set your clothes to change colour with the beat of the music and set up some cool visulizations and your away.

I know what I would do...

[SkyLeach]

I would put small cameras in front and behind me which displayed their images on the opposite side of the suite.

It may not be invisibility but it's damned close.

The problem I see is: what about backlighting? LCD required backlighting to work doesn't it? If the colors (colours for you brits :-) are dense enough to reflect light realistically then perhaps that isn't a problem for some applicaitons: the invisibility application, however, presents a problem.

Re:I know what I would do...

[tswinzig]

The problem I see is: what about backlighting? LCD required backlighting to work doesn't it? If the colors (colours for you brits :-) are dense enough to reflect light realistically then perhaps that isn't a problem for some applicaitons: the invisibility application, however, presents a problem.

I read an article on eInk a while back on their full-color screens that do not emit light. In other words, you need an external light source to see the screen. Sounds like a perfect match for this technology.

LCD suit would be the perfect camoflauge

[mister7]

There are military contractor already on this one, but they're using flat panels. A camera could capture the image behind you and project that image on the front part of your 'suit'. Doesn't need to be a sharp, perfectly aligned image either. Just get the color and intensity right. The US Army already wants this one...--> http://www.aro.army.mil/phys/Nanoscience/sec4nano. htm

Fahrenheit 451?

[GT_Alias]

The technique could create giant TV screens

Holy buh-jeezus! Did anyone else read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury?

It was scary enough when they brought out those flat-panel plasma screens (not that I'm complaining), but now that you could paint all 4 walls w/ television screens...

This combined with the advent of Aibo (remeber the mechanical dog in the firehouse?), seems to me Bradbury was dead on.

It gets Worse!

[Alien54]

Great, now I'm going to have nightmares about being chased down supermarket aisles by a box of Cherrios shrieking "Buyyyy Meeeee!"

and it gets worse.

Since this stuff can be embedded into fabric, obviously you can have T-shirts, etc. Obviously, You know someone will add wireless capability for continous updates, etc.

The free car program where you get a free car because it has Advertising on it can now have cars that are updated monthly.

The visual equivalent of pop-up ads everywhere, as you drive or walk down the street.

Then add in your occasional prankster. Your room mate configures the back of your jacket to display pr0n as you walk down the street.

And we call this progress. just a simple extrapolation of the spammer mentality to the use of the new media forms

Walls

[truthsearch]

I've always wanted a video wall at home. That way I'm really using the available "real estate" to it's maximum capability. It would be great to have video on my cubicle walls at work. No monitor... a little to my right is my e-mail, touch the app window in front of me to bring my word processor into focus. It would be cool to have touch-support on video walls at work, along with a keyboard. Drag documents around... no more white board with smelly markers, just open a blank "window" and draw, no scanning needed to save it... have the video phone display to my left... drag a doc onto the other person's face to let them see it...

Damn, now I'm just staring at my boring cube walls and monitor for the rest of the day. Thanks /. for building my dreams while I still have to suffer in this world! ;-)

Always wanted a programmable globe

[Tri0de]

Tried to design one a few years ago, but this might make it possible. Imagine a globe that could be updated via the web or disc, could illustrate the route of a voyabe or flight paths or tectonic drift, or weather, satellite orbits....

Re:Cars?

[Xaoswolf]

as heard over the police band radio "Attention all units, I'm in hot pursuit of a red station wagon... make that a blue... no green... ok now it's plaid... well at least it's a station wagon."

The only other improvement I would want, is an LCD liscense plate...