Babylon AD & OLED: Charting the Future of Tech

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the potential future applications of OLED technology as depicted in the film Babylon AD, particularly focusing on the interactive map featured in the movie. Participants explore the feasibility and implications of such technology, comparing it with alternatives like E-ink and flexible LCDs.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that the map in Babylon AD represents an advanced use of OLED technology due to its interactive features and thin design.
  • Others question the assumption that the map is OLED, suggesting it could be a backlit LCD instead.
  • One participant describes the map as having capabilities similar to a touchscreen, allowing for interactive navigation and responses based on user input.
  • Another participant introduces E-ink as a potentially superior alternative, highlighting its low power consumption and flexibility, while speculating on future color displays.
  • Some participants express skepticism about E-ink's current technology, suggesting that flexible LCDs may be more advanced and could incorporate OLEDs.
  • There is a discussion about the competitive landscape of electronics and optics, with one participant questioning the ability of American companies to re-enter these fields, while another counters that significant research and innovation still occurs in the West.
  • Concerns are raised about the durability of materials used in flexible displays, particularly regarding the longevity of prototypes.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the technology depicted in Babylon AD, with no consensus on whether it is OLED or another type of display. There are competing perspectives on the advancements of E-ink versus flexible LCDs, and the discussion about the competitiveness of American companies in the electronics field remains unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Participants note various assumptions about the technologies discussed, including the definitions of OLED, E-ink, and flexible LCDs, as well as the implications of manufacturing and research locations on competitiveness in the field.

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The map used in the beginning sequence of Babylon AD looks like a regular map until he charts a course right there on the map. Would this be an extreme case of the future use of OLED Technology or would that be something more advanced.
 
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plutoisacomet said:
The map used in the beginning sequence of Babylon AD looks like a regular map until he charts a course right there on the map. Would this be an extreme case of the future use of OLED Technology or would that be something more advanced.

Haven't seen the movie/show. What makes you think it's an Organic LED display, and not a backlit LCD?

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/oled.htm

.
 
Hey and thanks for replying. Yes, I am thinking OLED because the map's design was based on the idea of how Map's were always designed which is on paper that is folded up. Well this map looks and smells like a regular map but it has the capability of a touch screen and with a smart response. For example, you unfold the map you touch it and it becomes alive by showing the location as a starting point or ending point and the map interactively ask's by having you point to your destination.. The big deal with the map is that its paper thin like a regular map but is interactive like a person using map quest on a pc but with intelligence.

Sometimes it takes Science Fiction to get one thinking about a new possibility or area of research.
 
Why settle for low power and flexible media, when you could have no power and flexible media? E-ink can also be deposited on thin paper / plastic, and I'd imagine that a digitizer can also be made flexible (probably a resistive one). Here's a picture of a flexible plastic e-ink display I found:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maisonbisson/480047671/

It's all black and white for now, but I'd guesstimate colour displays within the next decade. Something not unlike what was used in Babylon AE could be within our grasp (pun not intended) within the next few years.

EDIT: an E-ink display only uses no power when the display is just displaying (i.e. most of the time). It only uses power when changing the display. This also does not factor in other background electronics, like a processor or digitizer (which would presumably be off or in standby mode when the display is static)
 
I think E-ink is even a little behind the times with their technology. There are a lot of companies working on super thin flexible LCDs. I'm not sure if they use OLEDs but I would imagine they would.

http://www.tomrafteryit.net/philips-demo-flexible-lcd-screen/ (notice article date)

http://www.tomrafteryit.net/images/philips_curl.jpg
 
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Hey guys. Hello MATLABdude and Topher925 that was a great find. Thanks for the info. Isn't Phillips a British company. If so they would be the only western or non-Asian company that is leading the way in optics and electronics. Is it possible for an American company to re-enter the field of Electronics/optics or does America labor, the hierarchical nature of engineering and design and costs price itself out of being competitive in these fields.
 
plutoisacomet said:
Hey guys. Hello MATLABdude and Topher925 that was a great find. Thanks for the info. Isn't Phillips a British company. If so they would be the only western or non-Asian company that is leading the way in optics and electronics. Is it possible for an American company to re-enter the field of Electronics/optics or does America labor, the hierarchical nature of engineering and design and costs price itself out of being competitive in these fields.

Well, I'm not sure about re-entering the field of electronics / optics since many Americans (and American companies, inasmuch as any multinational has a nationality these days) is still right in the thick of things! While a lot of manufacturing has moved overseas, a good deal of the research and innovation still happens in the west. But research has a very (and increasingly) global flavor to it, especially in regards to collaborative research.

Royal Philips is actually a Dutch company, but Philips has research labs throughout the world, including a facility in New York. Electronic Ink was developed at MIT, and spun off in the Boston area. You Americans don't hold a monopoly on research and development (anymore? I don't think there was a time where there ever was), but you certainly aren't NOT doing anything (to use a double negative).
 
Thanks for the input and resolving my questions.
 
Topher925 said:
I think E-ink is even a little behind the times with their technology. There are a lot of companies working on super thin flexible LCDs. I'm not sure if they use OLEDs but I would imagine they would.

http://www.tomrafteryit.net/philips-demo-flexible-lcd-screen/ (notice article date)

http://www.tomrafteryit.net/images/philips_curl.jpg
[/URL]

i wonder what material they use for the traces, and how many cycles that prototype lasts? i remember flex connectors being notorious failure points.
 
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