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First Touch-Screen, Bendable E-Paper Developed
Al writes "The first touch-screen flexible e-paper has been developed by a team from Arizona State University and E-Ink (the company that makes the technology for Amazon's Kindle and Sony's Reader). Jann Kaminski and colleagues at ASU's Flexible Display Center say the main challenge is that most touch-screen technologies do not respond well to being flexed. So they used an inductive screen, which relies on a magnetized styluses to induce a field in a sensing layer at the back of the display. The first adopters for the technology are likely to be the US Army. Watch a video of the device being tested."
And just think of how easy it would be for Big Brother to update the truth if there weren't all those pesky hard copies laying around!
C'mon, does it really need to be flexible AND touch-sensitive? We have non-projector wall-monitors (some rear-projected, some plasma screens) that we control with a mouse. Works pretty well. Not one person using it has said, "You know, this is just unacceptable. This has to be flexible and touch-sensitive in order for me to do my job."
Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
you really think a wall-sized flexible touch-screen display is going to be less expensive than a projector, ever?
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
I love Slashdot.
Aricle: "Berkley finds cure for cancer."
Slashdot: "What the hell can they use that for?"
Are you telling me that you have such narrow, blinded, imagination-less vision that you can't see the use for something as thin and flexible as paper, but with the functionality of a touch-screen laptop? How about, I dunno, an e-Book that's as easy to transport and hold as a newspaper? Hell, with modern wireless technology, you could have your screen/input device sitting on the table with you at breakfast while the laptop "base" is over by the outlet. Carry the newspaper screen/input device around with you on the train and bus wirelessly connected to a PDA around your belt.
Think of the possibilities!
> ...an E-paper newspaper could be (potentially) folded to fit in a pocket...
But this thing can't be folded: only bent on what looks to be about a 10cm radius.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
A stylus is quite small, and can be positioned accurately. My finger is quite fat. Waving a finger around is OK for scrolling through lists and selecting large icons, but writing with your finger on something the size of a PDA is really sucky.
The applications people dream about are things like:
-Robustness. For field work a display that is inherently bendable is potentially less likely to break.
-Displays that are more compact/portable, since they can be folded up or rolled-up. E.g. a PDA with a small screen for quick work but a larger roll-out display for reading a book.
-Being able to read computer-text in a format roughly like a newspaper (thin, light, bendable, etc.). In principle not more useful that a rigid and flat e-book reader, but it is a format some people may prefer.
-Large format displays. E.g. instead of having a projector and unrolling a white screen, you just unroll a bendable display screen (with all the usual advantages of monitor technology: e.g. you can't block the beam, brighter display with better contrast, etc.). Or being able to unfold a screen (like a map) and put it on a table for impromptu collaboration (or display data in the field).
-Deformable displays for shifting surfaces. E.g. imagine a touchscreen that had a keyboard 'hidden' behind it. When required the keys press up (bending the display) so you can use it as a normal keyboard. With a switch the keys depress and lock, giving you a flat touchscreen.
-The ability to put touchscreens onto non-planar surfaces. Like having a screen that follows the contour of the dash in your car. Or having screens plastered onto columns in malls (for a mall directory, and advertising, probably...).
-The ability to put touchscreens anywhere: wallpapering a room, the inside surface of a tent, clothes (maybe just for novelty or maybe actually useful: e.g. a computer interface built into army uniforms), the surface of your desk, etc.
Those are just a few. If you can't think of any applications for a bendable touchscreen, you're not trying very hard!
It sure would help to be flexible. Much easier to transport a 100" display that rolls up than a 100" LCD screen.
Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
At least they will be able to bend the truth...
+++++ NO CARRIER ++++++
an E-paper newspaper could be (potentially) folded to fit in a pocket...
But this thing can't be folded: only bent on what looks to be about a 10cm radius.
Small moves, Ellie... small moves. Give it a few years or a decade and see how progress is then.
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
Not to be dismissive of your point (it's a good point), but I think it just depends on the application. If the purpose is navigation of an OS, then I might be much more interested in using my finger. If, on the other hand, the purpose is to allow me to write on something, then I'm more comfortable using something resembling a pen.
Roll it up, stick it under my arm, and carry it to where I need it. Yeah, that sounds pretty handy.
Control with a mouse. Not draw with a mouse. I've given whiteboard talks, sketching out what I'm talking about. And I'm here to tell you you CANNOT give a whiteboard talk by trying to sketch with a mouse.
Not one person using standard accounting ledgers said, "You know, this is just unacceptable. This has to be able to do arithmetic on its own for me to do my job." Then they got to see computer spreadsheets.
Does that mean I should get hyped up over every advancement in everything because it might one day meet a niche demand for someone?
No, but you don't have to troll every article asking "Whats the point!!" just because you can't see how this will be useful in a few years. A simple "Ah, cool! Glad they're making progress!" is appropriate, I think.
And as easy to damage/lose/get stolen?
Your $300 EEEpc isn't easy to steal or damage or lose? Hell, this thing's probably MORE robust. I doubt dropping it would hurt it at all. Try dropping your EEEPC off your desk and see what happens.
And my $300 EEE netbook couldn't possibly meet this demand? Keep your flexible e-book. Real books meet my requirements.
Three years ago I'm sure your laptop met your requiremenst and you wondered what the deal with these new "Netbooks" was. Ten years ago I bet your Desktop met all your requirements and you had no idea why people would need or want mobile e-mail. Fifteen years ago I'm sure your landline phone was perfectly fine at keeping you connected to everyone.
The world changes, and this technology, while not finished, will certainly become mainstream and offer convenience, robustness, and (heh) flexibility.
using your finger is fine when you don't mind smeared, bad readable displays.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
You8r missinf the bigges and most important use:
Gaming!
Now I can have my table sized roll out, and just have the map display on it, with monsters as they come into sight!
SA well as be able to play every parker brothers game with just one board.
Think man, THINK!
Won't anybody think of the gamers?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Correct. Not having a back light is actually a good thing for military uses. I work a few offices down from some of the guys on this project and talk to them occasionally. At one point, one of them suggested adding a back light to it for night operations to an army guy, and he was firmly against it to avoid any light that might give the position away to an enemy. When asked how the user would use it at night, the response was something along the lines of "That's why I carry night vision goggles around."