Ceatec, which took place in Japan earlier this month, is always an interesting show to see what the Japanese companies are working on. While wearables were a focus this year, there were plenty of large displays, as well. Almost 550 companies exhibited at the show, and 150,000 visited.
Omron, of Japan, used the recent Ceatec show to demonstrate a transparent film that can turn a plate of glass into a (static) display.
The ‘Transparent Plate-type Space Projection Technology’ (TPSTP) uses Omron’s experience with backlight units. It is a transparent sheet that can be attached to glass, using an LED lamp as a (projected) light source. The projection unit is situated at the base of the sheet. A single sheet can produce a single-colour image, but more can be stacked for multiple colours and animation (MIT showed a similar system earlier this year (Display Monitor Vol 21 No 4). Researchers embedded silver nanoparticles into the transparent material, which can be tuned to only scatter (reflect) certain wavelengths (colours); others pass straight through. The system works in a similar way to smoke in the air that can show a laser beam – TA).
Omron believes that its TPSTP could be used in VR, augmented reality, signboards and more.
An 85″ UltraHD display, with a touchscreen, was shown by Panasonic. The 10-point touchscreen is one of the world’s largest capacitive units. Panasonic can bring the dsplay to market quickly if there is a demand and estimated the price of the panel at between
