Thin Displays as Wristbands

October 15, 2010 | Source: Technology Review

Flexible OLED display (Universal Display)

The U.S. military has been funding development of flexible OLEDs with long enough lifetimes and consistent quality, with the aim of providing soldiers with rugged, thin communications devices that can display maps and video without adding too much weight to their load.

The U.S. Army is testing a prototype “watch” that’s lightweight and thin and has a full-color display. This display is built on flexible materials encased in a rugged plastic case and can be worn on a wristband to display streaming video and other information. It uses newly developed phosphorescent materials that are efficient at converting electricity into red, blue, and green light, which means the display needs less power to work.