Sony's research and development labs is one step closer to this reality with a new fully rollable organic screen the company showcased today.
The display, which is made up of organic thin-film transistors, is a little over four inches wide and fully functional while flat or in a rolled up state. The video above shows the display playing a video clip of a car race while being folded around a pencil as is visible in the video, the image is not affected by the rolling of the screen and still plays with the same quality and speed.
This isn't the first time we've heard about these flexible screens, but it is the first that is fully functional and rollable. And this is also a space that many electronics companies see as possible next iteration of computing. My colleague Ashlee Vance profiled one direction when he wrote about Asustek, the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer that essentially invented the netbook category and is now working on a wearable wrist-top computer.
Sony's flexible screen is fully functional while rolling around a pencil.
I also discussed the possibilities and potential of flexible screens that could possibly replace your wallpaper or make it possible to go camping with a foldable television (if you're so inclined). But as Nicholas Colaneri, director of the Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University explained when I spoke with him in January, the display is only one of the challenges to make this a reality. Other difficulties include the electronics and circuits and the challenge of manufacturing these to fold with the screen.
A press release issued by Sony offers a completely in-depth description of the process used to make this display, which involves an organic light-emitting diode (or OLED) screen and other organic semiconductor materials. The four-inch screen offers a high resolution of 432 by 240 pixels, which is close to other mobile phone screens on the market today.
Although it might be some time until we see these flexible devices in the marketplace that take advantage of this type of screen, this brings us one step closer to gadgets that could wrap around your wrist or become embedded in your clothing.
