Example of flexible ePaper

Flexible ePaper is nothing new.  LG demonstrated the technology earlier this summer but provided few details and no production plans.  Now, AU Optronics has unveiled its 6″ flexible ePaper technology, with plans to manufacture the screens for implementation in consumer electronics products in 2010.

The recent flurry of eBook reader announcements from Barnes & Noble, Sony, IREX, and Amazon amongst others, will drive demand for eInk based ePaper displays into the highest tiers of mass manufactured technology.  The novelty and of these eBook products, along with the actual benefits they impart to the act of reading, has made them one of the hottest product classes of the year.  eBook readers in general boast eInk displays that reduce eye strain and consume virtually no electricity, extending battery life onto the scale of weeks rather than hours.

Flexible ePaper displays, such as that by AUO, will give designers more freedom to create unique products.  With a bending radius of up to 4 inches, the technology could revolutionize digital signage and allow personal readers to conform to more efficient shapes for storage or ergonomics purposes.  While color ePaper display technology is being developed, AUO’s flexible display only supports 4-bit grayscale (totaling 16 shades of gray), a limitation that must be overcome if these devices want to compete with traditional color print media.

I’ve been following the development of eInk technology for over 10 years.  It’s really cool to finally see the technology enter the mainstream with such widespread acceptance, even if most eBook users don’t really know or understand the brilliance and simplicity of the technology that is driving the display at which they’re looking.  And as the technology continues to advance, with increasingly flexible displays and the implementation of color, maybe someday soon the digital newspaper concept that originally sparked my interest in eInk will become a reality.