Sharp has announced a new prototype display, called the Sharp Free-Form display, and it could possibly change the displays we use in our every day devices in the future.
Current displays, like our smartphone or tablet display have components and circuits in their bezels, but this new display has the circuits in the actual display, which means we could see devices with virtually no bezels or ultra slim bezels, this also allows for new designs.
The photos that sharp have released of their new Free-Form display show off how this technology could be integrated into cars, for things like the stereo and navigation display and also instrument clusters.
Continuing on this tradition of innovation, Sharp announces the development of the Free-Form Display, a device that can be shaped to meet a wide range of user needs thanks to the incorporation of IGZO technology and proprietary circuit design methods. Conventional displays are rectangular because they require a minimal width for the bezel in order to accommodate the drive circuit, called the gate driver, around the perimeter of the screen’s display area. With the Free-Form Display, the gate driver’s function is dispersed throughout the pixels on the display area. This allows the bezel to be shrunk considerably, and it gives the freedom to design the LCD to match whatever shape the display area of the screen needs to be.
It certainly looks very impressive from the photos, and as well as in vehicle applications, this technology could also be used in a wide range of other devices in the future, like smartphones, tablets and even smart watches.
Whilst the Sharp Free-Form display is still a prototype, the company has plans to start manufacturing these new display, and they are looking to put them into production ‘at the earliest possible date’.
Source Sharp
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