The Fraunhofer FEP will debut a new set of tools for the independent development of wearables using OLED microdisplays at Electronica 2018, which takes place between November 13th and 16th at Neue Messe München in Munich, Germany.
The small size and low power requirements of OLED microdisplays suit miniaturised, lightweight, portable systems for integration into clothing, helmets and glasses. The technology provides high contrast and brightness ranging from 20 to 5,000cd/m².
Developers can choose from three different display variants: 304 × 128 with 12 µm² pixel size and 4-bit grayscale, 304 × 256 with 12 µm² pixel size and 4-bit grayscale and 720 × 256 pixels with 5 µm² pixel size and 1-bit black-and-white image.
Image: Fraunhofer FEP
The concept addresses applications for harsh environments such as disaster management, industry and telemedicine, where long battery life is indispensable.
For example, in the event of a major fire, the control centre could use helmet-integrated displays to send precise, easy-to-understand instructions to the firefighters on site. By integrating a display into the helmet, the display could function in areas with low visibility.
The FEP’s Bluetooth kit also lays the foundations for augmented reality developments such as a data helmet for emergency personnel or a worker in an Industry 4.0 setting, with a low data transfer rate and recharging time. Besides the display, the kit contains everything required, from the optics up to the graphical user interface for Windows or Android devices.
Developers can also target the market for data glasses, which is predicted to grow by over 200% between now and 2020, the FEP said.
