HP has announced that it is working on a prototype for a flexible, solar-powered and wearable display for the military. While the purpose for this invention is reprehensible, it has potential applications that can be used in a peace-loving world.
The lightweight computer display is to be flexible enough to wrap around a human’s (soldiers be damned) wrist, and is supposedly just 200 microns thick. It can be powered either by batteries or solar cells.
The display utilizes E-Ink display technology (the same tech that is inside e-book readers like Kindle), but which will be manufactured in a novel way to achieve the sort of thickness that is required, using a roll-to-roll process (analogous to ink being printed on paper). A super-thin layer of electronics will provide the visuals the screen, and along with optical components will be etched directly onto the plastic screen.
Paradoxically, HP says it will be easier to make smaller displays initially, but as the technology becomes more reliable, it can be scaled up in size.