LG Display has demonstrated an expandable screen that can be stretched and twisted up to 10,000 times to make it grow by 50%.
If we start to know flexible screens quite well, whether to be folded and unfolded or to be rolled up and unrolled. On the other hand, screens that can be stretched and twisted in all directions remain a curiosity.
However, LG Display recently demonstrated screen technology that is quite impressive on paper. The company thus prides itself on having achieved “ the highest stretch rate in the industry ».
An expandable screen from 12 to 18 inches
“LG Display has unveiled the world’s first stretchable display, whose surface area can expand up to 50%,” reads the official press release. The group claims that these tiles “can be freely transformed into any shape, including stretching, folding and twisting ».
The famous prototype unveiled — in front of figures from industry, academia and research — has a 12-inch base diagonal that can extend up to 18 inches by pulling it out. All this while offering a resolution of 100 pixels per inch and a standard red-green-blue display.
In 2022, a similar prototype was shown, but at the time the stretch rate capped at just 20%. “ The higher the aspect ratio, the more varied display designs can be implemented, which can increase competitiveness when marketing the product », avance LG Display.
Up to 10,000 stretches
The improvement of the components and the use of a micro-LED source of maximum 40 micrometers made it possible, according to the firm, to improve the durability of the prototype. It is therefore perhaps stretched and deformed. up to 10,000 times without any problem » while holding «clear image quality even in extreme environments such as low and high temperatures and external impacts ».
According to LG Display, these thin and light screens could lead to new uses such as the integration of a display area on clothing for example. During the demonstration, the company notably presented a firefighter suit equipped with such a screen to provide real-time information. It also showed what integrating this technology into a car interior could look like.
For the moment, however, it is good to remember that this is only a prototype and that there is no question of marketing such a device in the near future.
