Plastic Logic reveals smartphone display accessory concept at open day

Dan Rogers - 28 Jun 2012

Technologies including a flexible display that wirelessly communicates with a smartphone and large-area signage were presented at a Plastic Logic technology open day.

A demonstrator of a flexible display that wirelessly receives documents, images and other data from a user's smartphone illustrated one of the new applications being considered and tested for the company's organic semiconductor backplane technology.

The device would be carried by a smartphone user to more easily read documents or for web browsing.

Smartphone accessory

CEO Indro Mukerjee comments: 'PDF reading is probably the biggest of the three areas [document use, image presentation and web browsing], but it's designed to present anything not available in an optimised form factor on the user's smartphone.'

Commercial opportunities for the lightweight, robust and portable display accessory concept are now being discussed with smartphone firms, according to Plastic Logic.

The UK start-up presented the demonstrator devices at its Cambridge headquarters, as part of the launch of its new, more open business strategy.

Other concepts for the company's technology included a large e-paper sign, which incorporated nine of the company's standard 10.7-inch displays in a tiled format. The lightweight and low-power technology could ultimately be used in signage applications.

Non-imaging

Logic technology, being developed in partnership with the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, was also on show. The company has previously noted that it could supply its organic semiconductors to company's working on non-imaging applications too .

And video-rate displays, in both monochrome and colour e-paper, were presented at the event.

Plastic Logic plans a further technology open day at its pilot production line in Dresden, Germany in July 2012, to illustrate the market-ready nature of its organic semiconductors.

A full report on Plastic Logic's technology, Dresden manufacturing facility and interview with CEO Indro Mukerjee features in the next issue of +Plastic Electronics magazine. Subscribe now.