Philips unveil the modular Living Sculpture 3D OLED system and the interactive OLED mirror

Image via OLED-Info

"After teasing us for almost a month, Philips finally launched their new modular 3D OLED system, the Livingscrulpture 3D. It's a kinetic system based on modular OLED blocks. The rectangular Lumiblade panels are placed on rods that can change their height - thus easily creating 3D surfaces. The system consists of base plates, each one holding 16 OLED panels (4x4). The OLED themselves are rectangular, 76x76 mm each (including the frame, the active area is 61.4x60.5 mm) and the color temperature is 3,000K. The typical luminance per OLED is about 1,500 cd/m². The base panel size is 316x316 mm. You can find the data sheet here. Of course this thing ain't cheap. Philips told us that each base plate wil cost about €700 (so that's about €43 per OLED, which is actually a good price for an OLED panel). A square meter will cost about €7,000. Together with the new system, Philips also launched their new web site - The New Art of Light." via OLED-Info

Capsule Review: Toshiba's 14" USB Mobile LCD Monitor

Image via Toshiba

"While notebook hardware has steadily improved over the years, outside of the recent MacBook Pro with Retina Display there haven't really been any moves forward in improving desktop real estate in some time. In fact, for productivity-oriented users this continues to be a major reason for sticking with a desktop setup (if not a desktop system): more monitors, more space to work in. This fact of life has resulted in a bit of a niche market in the form of small, USB-powered screens.

We've tested both of GeChic's OnLap monitors and found that while they were flawed in their own ways, they were still able to expand useful work space without incurring too much of an inconvenience in terms of size or power requirements. Yet GeChic's screens need an HDMI or D-SUB port in addition to a USB 2.0 port for power, and if for one reason or another your notebook doesn't offer one of these, you're out of luck. Enter solutions based off of DisplayLink's USB technology, which are able to add another screen driven entirely over USB. Solutions like the screen we have on hand today, Toshiba's catchily-named 14" USB Mobile LCD Monitor." via AnandTech

Samsung, LG's key display technologies leaked by Israeli firm

"According to the prosecution, the indicted employees photographed circuit diagrams of yet-to-be-released 55-inch AMOLED television panels when they were let into Samsung and LG's manufacturing factories to check defects of inspection equipment from November of last year to January of this year.

They stored the images on portable memory cards and slipped them into their shoes, belts and wallets to avoid suspicion, prosecutors said. AMOLED displays have a faster response time then their passive-matrix OLED counterparts and are more power-efficient, and the advantages make them well suited for growingly popular portable electronics devices. Samsung and LG are by far the leading makers of AMOLED displays, for which the global market is estimated to be worth 90 trillion won (US$77.8 billion). South Korea rigorously prohibits leakage of the technologies as it tags them as the nation's core industrially strategic tech.

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"It is very likely that the stolen technologies have been given by the Israeli firm to foreign rivals," a prosecution official said. "This may expectedly deal a massive economic blow to the entire nation and can cause a sea change in the landscape of the global display market."

According to industry watchers, Samsung spent nearly 1.4 trillion won in developing its AMOLED technologies with LG funneling nearly 1.3 trillion won into its research and development." via Yonhap News Agency

Small- and medium-size panels more profitable, says industry sources

"Panel makers are focusing on producing small- and medium-size panels due to increasing global demand along with declining prices for large-sized panels.

Sources noted that more than ever there is strong demand for mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and notebooks. As a result, Japan-, Korea-, Taiwan-, and China-based panel manufacturers such as BOE and Tianma are all competing for small- and medium-sized panel orders to meet the growing trend.

Global large-sized panel prices have been falling continuously due to lower than predicted growth in large-sized LCD panel sales and some panel makers are transferring to producing small- and medium-size panels to increase profits whereas some makers are still focused on producing large-sized LCD panels as there is still a large demand for LCD TVs in China expected in the years to come, added sources." via DigiTimes

Interphase Awarded First Patent for the penveu™ Interactive Display System

"The patent covers the penveu™ targeting system, which eliminates the need for calibration by inserting a targeting system – invisible to the human eye, but visible to the pen – into the display stream. ...penveu is a device that disrupts the $1.8 billion interactive whiteboard (IWB) industry, by enhancing the functionality of currently installed projectors and large screen displays. It encompasses superior technology – bringing rocket science to the masses in a sleek, pinpoint-accurate device – incorporating satellite and military navigation system technologies that are only now available to commercial markets.  It is compatible with any computer connected to a projector, large screen display, or TV using a VGA connector, regardless of operating system – all for a fraction of the current market price for such classroom technology." via The Sacramento Bee

eMagin Receives Initial Production Subcontract for U.S. Army Enhanced Night Vision Goggle

Image via Defense Update

"eMagin Corporation EMAN +2.69%, a leader in OLED microdisplays and virtual imaging technologies, announced today that it has received a subcontract from ITT Exelis Corporation for initial production volumes of the display beam combiner assembly (DBCA) for the Spiral Enhanced Night Vision Goggle (SENVG) for the U.S. Army, which includes eMagin's OLED-XL full color microdisplays. The total contract award is valued at approximately $49.5 million. eMagin's subcontract has a potential value of $3.6 million, with deliveries planned from mid-2012 through mid-2013.

The Army awarded Exelis a production option for the SENVG, designated AN/PSQ-20A. The SENVG gives soldiers the ability to detect and identify potential threats regardless of weather or environmental conditions, helping to ensure they complete their missions and come home safely.

"This is an important award for eMagin as it proves the value of the low power, high contrast and wide temperature operational advantages of our active matrix OLED technology for the U.S. Army's night vision initiatives," commented Andrew Sculley, President and Chief Executive Officer of eMagin. "We are pleased to be able to help reduce the power requirements for the SENVG with low-power, high contrast, OLED microdisplays."

According to ITT Exelis Geospatial Systems, the SENVG is production-ready, reliable and durable in challenging conditions and combines the strengths of thermal infrared imagery and image intensification. The SENVG is designed to accommodate enhancements for future network integration and lays the foundation for a digital future." via MarketWatch

Fujitsu Announces Low-cost 8-bit MCUs with capacitive touch sensor and controller functions (MB95870)

Image via Electropages

"To date, capacitive touch sensor technology has typically been used in applications such as cash points and train station TVMs (Ticket Vending Machines) or in office equipment such as copiers and printers. In recent years, however, capacitive touch sensor technology has experienced rapid growth, driven by the spread of touch key and touch panel applications in household appliances – such as in refrigerators and washing machines, for example. When compared to mechanical switches or resistive film touch key technology, capacitive touch key technology is not only easier for users to operate but is also more resistant to dust, moisture and wear. This array of features has made the capacitive method the preferred choice in touch key technology. As the marketplace for touch key and touch panel interfaces expands, the demand for capacitive touch sensors and controllers to drive this technology is also increasing. In addition, there is a strong demand for the microcontrollers for such systems to be equipped with touch sensor and controller functionality." via Electropages

HDTV Expert - Can Quantum Dots Save LCD-TV from AMOLEDs? – Ken Werner

"As the Society for Information Display’s Display Week event was ramping up in early June, Nanosys Inc. and the Optical Systems Division of 3M Company announced they would collaborate to bring quantum-dot (QD) technology to consumer liquid-crystal displays.

Nanosys (Palo Alto, CA), which identifies itself as a materials company, has been working for several years to develop QD technology for display applications and has generated serious interest from companies such as Samsung and LG Innotek.  But there has been a missing link, or two:  a company that can produce commercial volumes of stable QD components and a company with high-volume supply-chain expertise.  Given its experience in manufacturing display enhancement films of various kinds and effectively supplying them in high volumes to the consumer display industry, 3M is clearly in a position to fill both of these roles.  Or, as Optical Systems Division VP Jim Bauman put it, “Combining the world-class technology and materials expertise of Nanosys with the engineering, design and supply chain capabilities of 3M will unlock a powerful new color viewing experience for consumers.”

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“We are working together to improve an area of display performance that has been largely neglected for the last decade,” said Hartlove.  “Improving color performance for LCDs with drop-in solutions will bring a stunning new visual experience to the consumer and a competitive advantage to the LCD manufacturer against new display technologies such as OLED.”

This last point is not a throw-away.  By narrowing the visual distance between LCDs and OLED displays without harming LCD’s considerable advantage in cost over the short and medium term, QDEF could have a potentially disruptive effect on the developing technology battle between LCDs and AMOLEDs." via HDTV Magazine

41% of retailers will not deploy MPOS

"Despite the increasing availability of in-store technology, 41 per cent of retailers will not be deploying Mobile Payment of Sale (MPOS) across their stores, according to research.

In a recent survey conducted by Electronic Payment of Sale (EPOS) & e – commerce supplier Cybertill, 59 per cent of participants said ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’ to the prospect of operating MPOS across their stores.

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Ian Tomlinson, CEO of Cybertill, commented: “ I believe mobile EPOS systems are a great tool for added customer service, but I also believe that mobile POS should be deployed to add value and not just as an expensive gimmick.

“However, I think when this question is asked in twelve months’ time, mobile POS will have gained greater traction in the retail environment and be a proven solution that more retailers will be looking to deploy across their business.”" via Retail Gazette

Haptics: Reinventing the finger

Image via Senseg / The Economist

"THE smooth and impenetrable surface of the touchscreen has become familiar to everyone from dexterous toddlers to frustrated, fat-fingered adults. But not for much longer if Ville Makinen, the founder of Senseg, has his way. Under Dr Makinen’s tutelage Senseg, a Finnish firm, is deliberately roughing touch screens up. It is applying the idea of haptics—feedback to the sense of touch, rather than the senses of vision and hearing that are the usual targets of computer interactions—to the interface between screen and user.

A standard touchscreen employs what is called capacitive sensing to respond to a user’s prods. The electric charge held by a capacitor can be affected by a nearby conductor. Since fingers are conductive, they have this effect. An array of capacitors underneath the transparent cover of a touchscreen can thus locate an approaching digit, causing the device’s software to react accordingly.

Senseg’s “feelscreens” reverse this process. By applying a proprietary coating to the screen and varying the electrical charge in it, that screen can be made to attract or repel the flesh of a touching finger. The electrostatic force involved is small (think rubbing a balloon on your sleeve, and then sticking it to a wall), but it is enough for the nerve-endings in a fingertip to detect. Modulate the force appropriately and you can induce a feeling of sandpaper, corrugated iron or fabric. You can create the perception of raised keys on a screen, even though it remains flat, or of an e-book’s pages actually feeling like paper. You can even make the features on a map stand out to the touch, allowing the blind, as well as the sighted, to navigate." via The Economist

MetaTwistTower Digital Signage Display at Munich Airport

"The MetaTwistTower is the first instrument of its kind in a new generation of digital information and communication systems. The natural progressive step in the transitional development from analogue advertising space to digital static screen: A digital billboard chameleon that adapts to suit its environment in order to covey the optimal communicative objective. The variability of this new system outpaces common LED systems, not only regarding the attractiveness and effectiveness it creates in the advertisement space but also with regards to its broad scope of application potential. The MTT’s transformation ability directly pays off as performance strength. Its spectacular dynamic provides the MetaTwistTower with numerous options of displaying images in different ways; this greatly enhances the communicative effect of digital content creating an absolute eye catcher for any passers-by." via MetaTwistTower

Mitsubishi Installs Japan’s Largest Digital Signage System At Narita Airport

Image via CrazyEngineers

"Mitsubishi Electric Corp. has announced that they have successfully installed Japan’s largest digital signage system at Narita International Airport. So, now whenever you go inside the airport, you will see hundreds of Panorama Vision OLED display screens, making this digital signage system the largest in Japan. ...Across the digital panels, the the travelers in transit can see the terminal areas, displays airport news, entertainment programs, advertisements as well as relaxing imagery to keep them engaged." CrazyEngineers

Panel manufacturers look to increase panel prices with new sizes

"LCD panel manufacturers are producing new panel sizes in hope to increase panel prices in the second half of this year.

Industry sources said 40- and 42-inch sized LCD panels have dropped roughly 8-9% in price over the last month due to instabilities in European economies and that panel manufacturers are hoping that new panel sizes will stimulate the TV market.

Sources said new 39- and 50-inch LCD panels will challenge mostly 37- and 47-inch segments, particularly in China, and the firms are optimistic the new panels will help push up LCD panel pricing during the second half of this year." via DigiTimes

LCD panel makers to allocate more production capacity for TV applications

"Panel makers have appropriated increasing portions of their production capacities for panels used in LCD TVs and tablet PCs in response to less growth potential in the global demand for LCD monitors, according to industry sources.

Sources said that the LCD market is already mature and that decreasing the supply of panels used in monitors is expected to help keep prices for such panels stable. TPV Technology is expected to ship 65 million LCD monitors in 2012, only 5 million units more that were shipped in 2011." via DigiTimes

Leaked Slide Sheds New Light On RIM’s First BlackBerry 10 Devices

Image via N4BB

"RIM CEO Thorsten Heins confirmed at this year’s BlackBerry World event that the first BlackBerry 10 device to hit the market would be a touchscreen-only model, and RIM has been getting developers ready for it by doling out thousands of their Dev Alpha devices.

While company representatives were quick to note that the Dev Alpha was nothing close to the touchscreen device they would eventually ship, the slide notes that the L-series BlackBerry (previously known as the London) would sport an OLED display running at the same 1280×768 resolution as the alpha hardware. That display manages to cram 356 pixels into every inch, which also confirms that the L-series device will have a 4.2-inch display panel.

The slide also offers up a few details about what RIM has planned for their forthcoming keyboard-toting N-series model, perhaps most notably that the phone’s OLED display will run at 720 x 720 with a pixel density of 330 ppi. Crunching the numbers points to a screen that’s just a shade under 3.1 inches diagonal, making it the largest display to go on a more traditionally designed BlackBerry (the touch-friendly Torch series had larger 3.7-inch displays).

Just when these first devices will begin to trickle out of Waterloo is still a carefully-guarded secret, but sources have told N4BB in the past that an August announcement for the first BlackBerry 10 device would be followed by an October release." via TechCrunch

Clear Channel Airports announced it will implement a first-of-its kind digital advertising program at Denver International Airport

"Clear Channel Airports announced it will implement a first-of-its kind digital advertising program at Denver International Airport, the fifth-busiest U.S. airport and eleventh-busiest airport in the world.

The installation plan includes more than 118 LCD screens throughout the airport, including 70-inch freestanding LCDs throughout level six of Jeppesen Terminal, six post-security overhead ultra-thin bezel video walls on the soffits of the A, B, and C Concourses and four 26-foot diagonal high-definition LED video towers formed around the Great Hall elevator columns. Denver International Airport will have the largest digital footprint of any North American airport, according to the company.

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Per the new 10-year contract, existing hotel phone boards located in the baggage claim area will be replaced with touchscreens that can send hotel, restaurant and other travel information to mobile devices. The new touchscreens will be complemented by ultra-thin custom designed LCD's, building an eye level digital network for arriving passengers of Denver.

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"Denver International Airport is the first airport to fully grasp the value digital advertising platforms can bring to air passengers, advertisers and the airport," said Toby Sturek, president of Clear Channel Airports, Allentown, Pa." via Digital Signage Connection

Why developing countries embrace mobile banking

"More than half of the world's adults — 2.5 billion — are unbanked, according to research recently published by the World Bank Development Research Group. The American government, however, estimates that the U.S. is home to only 10 million of them, which means the vast majority of the unbanked live outside the country. And many of them reside in developing areas, such as India, where more than 40 percent of residents are unbanked, and Africa, where that number is at a staggering 80 percent.

Instead of trying to coax these populations into getting on board with mainstream banking, many companies are finding new ways to provide them with financial services, whether it's deploying kiosks to help the unbanked cash checks, pay bills and transfer money, or offering mobile banking services that allow consumers to transfer money via smartphones.

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Consumers can load their MOM m-wallets with cash at one of 82,000 retail touch points (expected to be 2 million by year's end) and use it to pay for electricity, gas and mobile bills and top-ups, as well as airline, bus and movie tickets.

MOM launched for the B2B market in India in 2010, and is now providing the semi-closed m-wallet for the consumer market. The service has 500,000 subscribers and does a business volume of INR 20 million ($358,422) daily." via Self Service World

Sony, Panasonic to Team up to Mass-produce OLED TV Panels

"The companies aim to develop an effective way to print large panels that use OLEDs, or organic light-emitting diodes, by next year, they said in a statement. They signed an agreement Monday that includes sharing their technology and jointly researching mass production techniques.

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Both Sony and Panasonic booked record losses last fiscal year as costs mounted in their TV businesses, with prices for LCD sets plunging in a largely commoditized market. Both companies have said they will not abandon the flagship product, though efforts to revive sales through features like 3D and networked services have yet to generate profits.

Sony said it will contribute its knowledge and research into OLEDs up until now, while Panasonic, which also makes plasma TV sets, said it currently has production equipment and know-how that should be applicable to large-screen OLED screens.

In addition to traditional flat screens, OLEDs can be applied to many different substrates, making curved and even flexible or rollable screens possible." via PC World

Canon to Launch Augmented-Reality Platform Based on Head-Mounted Displays

Image via Canon

"The virtual images are shown to users using two tiny display panels that sit just above the eyes. The images from the display panels are carefully aligned with user's point of view, to keep the virtual world aligned with the real one.

This camera-display combination allows the platform to display virtual items and shapes as though they are being viewed at the correct size and angle, even as users change position.

The company says it will begin sales of the platform from late June in Japan, and that Canon's foreign marketing subsidiaries may sell it abroad as well in the future. Canon will initially target the manufacturing industry, pitching the system as a way to look at new products before they are manufactured or test proposed factory layouts. It is also considering selling the system to companies that reform the interiors of buildings or for use in simulating surgical procedures." via PCWorld

Digital Signage Expo's July 2012 Industry Forum

Image via Digital Signage Connection

"Digital Signage Expo's July 2012 Industry Forum will be a unique, three-day event staged in a resort setting that allows end user guests and sponsors to network and create long-lasting relationships with peers and digital signage industry experts in a relaxed and enjoyable setting. The event will be held July 22-25 in Denver, Colo.

Are you an end user interested in attending as our all-expenses-paid guest? If you are planning to install or expand a digital signage program in the next 12 months, you may be eligible to join the DSE Industry Forum — but you must first qualify by filling out this short online application.

Have questions on attending? Please contact Geri Wolff at gwolff@market-works.com or (386) 447-0018." via Digital Signage Connection