US academics: e-paper revolution looms large

US academics: e-paper revolution looms large
Tim Sheahan, printweek.com, 08 August 2007

A move away from conventional newspapers could become reality within the next five years due to advances in e-paper technology, according to US academics.

US-based Purdue University's David Janes leads a team from several American colleges to develop flexible displays.

The team is using nanotechnology to create a high-tech display that could be used for newspapers with moving pictures that update automatically, he said.

Janes said: "So instead of seeing a static picture on your newspaper headline, you would actually see a character talking at you. Certainly, I think this would be a way to do that."

Janes' group – one of many working with e-paper – uses transparent transistors that contain tiny nanowires to light a flexible screen.

"We will no longer be constrained by simply having this rigid glass panel we hang on our wall or our desk, and we'll be able to wrap displays around other things," he added.