AeroBee: color and flexible e-reader from Bridgestone
Bridgestone is a global company, with tires at the core of their business development. In April last year, they have released a prototype of the the QR-LPD (Quick Response Liquid Powder Display), a flexible e-paper. Fast forward to April 2011, and it turns out the company has not only rebranded the e-paper to “AeroBee” but also used the time to improve the technology.
Driving principle of the QR-LPD
AeroBee uses black and white electrified powder that moves through air using transparent electrodes and acts a lot like a liquid. When a voltage is applied to the electrodes the black powder particles move either to the front or back of the display giving a black or white area on the screen. This is also what allows for stylus input as the powder can be moved to track the input as it happens over specific points.
In addition, 4,096 colors can be displayed by adding color filters and the screen technology allows the display to remain flexible.
As well as enabling full-color viewing, AeroBee supports handwritten input. And because digital paper conserves energy and paper, Bridgestone expects AeroBee to find many uses in the business environment.
“Specifically, AeroBee could be utilized for questionnaires, using the pen input capability. We’re actually doing a questionnaire survey here, using this module, and saving the results in a database. AeroBee could also be used for many other purposes, such as digital charting in healthcare and digital textbooks in schools.”
Technical details
- display: QR-LPD 13.1 inch/A4 (color) touch pad with stylus input
- CPU: ARM11 @533MHz
- RAM: 128Mbyte SDRAM and 4GB of iNAND for storage
- OS: Linux 2.6.24
- connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Memory Card, USB 2.0
- sound: built-in mic and 3.5mm sound output
- Size: 245mm x 303 mm
- thickness: 13mm
- weight: about 730g
[via CrunchGear and DigInfo TV ]