Electronic PAPER

What is electronic paper ?  Electronic paper and electronic ink are display technologies that mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper.  Unlike conventional backlit flat panel displays that emit light, electronic paper displays reflect light like paper. This may make them more comfortable to read, and provide a wider viewing angle than most light-emitting displays  Many electronic paper technologies hold static text and images indefinitely without electricity.

History:  Electronic paper was first developed by Nick Sheridon at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center.  The first electronic paper, was called Gyricon.  it consisted of polyethene spheres with janus particles  These spheres are embedded in a silicon sheet.

Technologies used to manufacture Electronic papers.

ELECTROPHORETIC

 An electrophoretic display forms images by rearranging charged pigment particles with an applied electric field.  This used tiny microcapsules filled with electrically charged white particles suspended in a colored oil. In early versions, the underlying circuitry controlled whether the white particles were at the top of the capsule (so it looked white to the viewer) or at the bottom of the capsule (so the viewer saw the color of the oil). This was essentially a reintroduction of the well- known electrophoretic display technology, but microcapsules meant the display could be made on flexible plastic sheets instead of glass.

ELECTROWETTING

It's a low-power and low-voltage technology, and displays based on the effect can be made flat and thin. The reflectivity and contrast are better than or equal to other reflective display types and approach the visual qualities of paper.

Features which make E-Paper displays the future of displays.

Power consumption

 E Ink screens draw much less power than LCD screens.

 You’ll have to plug in a tablet or phone every few days to recharge it.  while an E paper device can go for weeks or even months on end without a battery recharge.  In comparison with the above device, I pad mini last only 10 hours.

Flexiblity And Durability

 Electronic displays are flexible.  These displays are shock proof  It will work even after you cut it half.  All these things cannot be done by any lcd and led which are available today.

The Eyestrain Debate

 Many people claim that E Ink screens help reduce eye strain. They say that staring at an E Ink screen for long periods of time is easier than staring at an LCD screen.  A 2012 study looked at this exact issue. The researchers concluded that there was a major difference between reading an an E Ink versus and LCD screen in terms of fatigue and visual strain.

APPLICATIONS

 The benefits to using electronic paper are quite impressive. Here are some of the advantages of using the technology:  Inexpensive to manufacture  Uses low energy  It's portable  The technology is reusable and can be written over In the future it could be used to hold libraries and electronic newspapers which would be read on hand-held ePaper readers

MAJOR DEVICES CONSISTING OF ELECTRONIC PAPER

PEBBLE SMART WATCH

 The Pebble Smartwatch is a smartwatch developed by Pebble Technology Corporation and released in 2013 that received the majority of its initial funding via the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.  The watch features a black and white Sharp Memory LCD, a programmable CPU, memory,  storage,Bluetooth, a vibrating motor, a magnetometer, an ambient light sensor, and an accelerometer; these extend its use beyond just displaying the time and into many roles including interacting with smartphone notifications, activity tracking, gaming, map display, golf tracking, and more. The Pebble is compatible with Android and iOS devices.  Pebble Technology Corporation raised $10.3 million through a Kickstarter campaign running from April 11, 2012, through May 18, 2012; this was the most money raised for any product on the site at that time. Best Buy, an American consumer electronics corporation, began selling Pebble smartwatches in July 2013, and sold out within five days. On 31 December 2014, Pebble sold its one millionth smartwatch.

Future of low cost and flexible display

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