[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4cast #343: On displays

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4cast #343: On displays
July 17th, 2013

smart watchThe next big technology excitement looks like it may be the 
advent of smart watches 
<http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2013/07/02/best-buy-begins-selling-149-pebble-smartwatch-online-retail-launch-coming-on-july-7/> 
- or maybe not 
<http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-smartwatch-right-now-is-the-pebble-but-honestly-theyre-all-kind-of-crummy/>. 
Smart watches in themselves are probably not going to initiate changes 
to library tech, but some of the new technologies in smart watches may 
eventually migrate to other technologies. For example, some smart watch 
makers are preparing to use new color display technology that requires 
much less power than current power-hungry LCD displays, so their watches 
can make do with smaller batteries. That kind of technology could 
conceivably find its way into self-contained low-power digital displays 
- like library signage, perhaps?

  * What I learned from researching almost every single smart watch that
    has been rumored or announced
    <http://qz.com/102646/takeaways-from-every-single-smart-watch/>
    (Quartz/Christopher Mims) "Qualcomm's rumored smart watch, for
    example, supposedly uses Mirasol, a kind of reflective, full-color
    display that requires no power unless it's being updated. (Mirasol
    displays color by refracting light like a butterfly's wings, rather
    than emitting actual red, green and blue light, like an LCD.)"
  * This is cool: Qualcomm shows off its Mirasol display
    <http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/05/this-is-cool-qualcomm-shows-off-its-mirasol-display/>
    (Ars Technica/Florence Ion) "The Mirasol display is touted for its
    energy-efficiency. It offers a six-times-over power advantage
    compared to both LCD and OLED displays, which means it would be the
    kind of display that a smartphone would make great use of. It's made
    with a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) based on
    Interferometric Modulation (IMOD) technology...."
  * Qualcomm invests second $60 million in Sharp for next-gen displays
    <http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/465698/qualcomm_invests_second_60_million_sharp_next-gen_displays/>
    (PC World/Jay Alabaster) "Traditional LCD screens have a white back
    light that sits behind an array of liquid crystal pixels, each
    paired with a color filter to allow light of a certain color to
    pass. MEMs screens use a back light that cycles through a sequence
    of colors, synchronized with an array of tiny shutters that serve as
    pixels, flashing open briefly to let certain colors through. The
    MEMS shutters have a faster reaction time than LCD pixels, and don't
    require color filters so the back light needs less power to operate."
  * Qualcomm's next-gen Mirasol display goes Retina
    <http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/qualcomms-mirasol-display-goes-retina/>
    (Digital Trends/Saul Berenbaum) "Most notably, there is a silvery
    tint and lack of color brightness on the screens. Some glow is also
    noticeable on the edges, but the benefits are clear. Glare is
    reduced and battery life is improved by about six times, compared to
    the LCD and OLED screens found on most smartphones and tablets
    today. Though it's not as vivid as an LCD screen, we could easily
    see it being adopted by a number of devices, and it could open the
    gates for other new types of displays."

*/MEMS fact/*:

You might get the impression from the quotes above that 
micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) are specifically used for 
displays, but the term applies to any electronics system built with 
components that are less than 100 micrometers in size. A micrometer is 
one-thousandth of a millimeter, and at these extremely small sizes, the 
standard rules of classical physics do not always apply.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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