Old stuff from the XX century
Xerox had the concept of e-paper back in the 70s. Worked out an idea for
Electronic paper is unique in that the imageon it is formed by the physical movement of pigment particles. The technology is based on microcapsules as thick as a human hair. Inside each of them are positively charged white and negatively charged black particles. Positively charged ones are attracted to negatively charged electrodes, and negatively charged ones - to those contacts that have a positive charge. This allows you to set the color of each capsule, which provides a "black and white" image on the screen. After removing the voltage, the particles remain in their places - the image does not change, and the battery resource is consumed only for updating it.
An economical way to display information andthe paper-like picture was immediately used in electronic readers. The first E Ink-based device, the Sony Librie EBR 1000, appeared in 2004. And already in 2007, the history of Amazon's Kindle devices began, which are still loved by many fans of e-readers. Later, devices appeared with moisture protection, touch control, additional colors, and ample opportunities for connecting to the Internet. But the golden age of gadgets did not last long.
The e-reader market has already passed the stage of rapidgrowth. No breakthroughs are expected now. Device sales are related to the number of people who like to read, and only mass popularization of reading can influence them
Evgeny Suvorov, Head of the "Electronic Books" direction of the "MacCentre" company
But this is only part of the history of electronic paper, which will be rewritten in the coming years.
Not only readers
It may seem that the technology behindreaders, has long occupied a niche and is losing popularity, but forecasts suggest otherwise. The "electronic and paper" segment is not only holding on, but also gaining momentum: according to estimates, the market will double by the middle of the decade.
E Ink aims to expand:back in 2019, the management noted that their goal is to reduce dependence on the reader market and focus on IoT products (the level of development of devices that can be networked via the Internet or using wireless technologies). The most telling example is electronic price tags, an energy efficient technology that minimizes retail costs.
Supermarket visitors are familiar with the situation whenthe price at the checkout differs from that on the counter. This is due to the workload of employees, they do not have time to change hundreds of price tags, synchronizing them with the database. This problem is solved by an electronic price tag: information is updated for the entire store automatically from a computer. This development looks such a promising undertaking that large domestic companies are ready to join the project: Rostec and VEB Innovations. Other designs that use electronic ink include thermostats and smart badges.
E Ink is not dead only because weWe love reading from the screen, but technology has strong trump cards. The main ones are low power consumption and high contrast. The weak point is still the speed of updating information, so you can watch video on such devices. If we talk about prospects, then, in addition to books, E Ink will be convenient as a technology for simple information screens where saving energy consumption is needed. Such solutions can be applied in dozens of areas: from healthcare to information signs
Andrey Solovyov, IT journalist and video blogger
The focus on IoT is just one facet of e-paper: the technology that has proven itself in consumer electronics will not leave that market either.
New personal assistants and trendy monitors
Electronic paper allows you to watch movies oreven play, but so far this is not a mass technology, but the research of enthusiasts. But at the same time, the number of highly specialized devices, the use of which does not require a high screen refresh rate and accurate color reproduction, is growing. These are notebooks like Remarkable 2, smartwatches, alarm clocks, and even typewriters.
Unlike IoT, sustainability is a new trend inpersonal devices, where everything is limited by the lack of plugs for charging phones or devices that do not harm the environment - like the Fairphone. But the abundance of unnecessary information and attempts to combat it is a fashionable trend where electronic ink can show itself in all its glory. It's no coincidence that color is the first thing that manufacturers of solutions that help concentrate try to get rid of - for example, the Ratio launcher for Android.
But phones with E ink, albeit a color one, exist andnow - Hisense A5C or Mudita Pure. Provided that all unnecessary things like a camera are removed from such devices, humanity may be on the verge of a new trend. By the way, it’s the same with monitors: E ink - a solution from DASUNG, although it costs more than $ 2,000, can save people working with text from flickering screens.
Electronic paper has never been a breakthrough.But the future of this technology is much more promising than simply serving an audience that is used to e-readers. In the near future, there will be IoT devices or non-standard personal devices - perhaps in the future, ink screens will even become an alternative to any "retina".
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