Planar to Debut Transparent OLED Displays at ISE Amsterdam

Planar to Debut Transparent OLED Displays at ISE Amsterdam
  • Planar Systems will feature new transparent OLED technology in February at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2015.

Planar OLED displays will be shown at ISE in Amsterdam
The 55 inch prototype at ISE 2015 will utilize Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) technology to improve the transparency of see-through displays, creating opportunities for design while overcoming a hurdle to transparent display adoption. OLED displays are self-emitting, eliminating the need for a backlight or enclosure.

“The vision of transparent displays, popularized for decades in science fiction movies and television shows, is now nearing reality,” said Jennifer Davis, vice president of marketing at Planar Systems. “This technology is poised to revolutionize space design, customer engagement, and the digital display of information and branding for decades to come, and we are proud to be a pioneer in this next wave of transparent display development.”

Transparent displays allow users to view what is shown on a glass video screen while still being able to see through it. This enables users, for example, to overlay digital images onto real objects that sit behind the glass. Based on customer feedback and technology development under way, Planar anticipates adding transparent OLED technology as a product offering in early 2016.

Transparent OLED can be used for a broad range of applications including those in retail, museum and corporate settings. Retailers can install these displays in front of products to provide digital information about their merchandise, creating augmented reality experiences. Museums can use them to encourage patrons to interact with exhibits by displaying artifacts overlaid with text, images or video content designed to educate and inspire. Companies can incorporate them into their lobby, cafeteria and conference rooms as a way to present information to employees and customers while maintaining an interior design aesthetic of modern transparency. Planar’s transparent OLED will allow designers to activate glass surfaces that are incorporated into these spaces, like interior windows, room dividers and partitions.

“We are excited to see the new types of experiences we can create with transparent OLED, "said Thomas Wester, technology director of Second Story, which is part of the storytelling agency SapientNitro. “It represents an exciting new canvas to paint on, and we are proud to be developing one of the first public experiences to demonstrate this technology. Planar is a leader when it comes to innovation in transparent displays and this latest OLED technology demonstration showcases their ongoing commitment to pushing boundaries. With them, we want to encourage the industry and our clients to envision how they might achieve more compelling customer experiences.”

Transparent OLED offers high picture quality, contrast and wide viewing angles. Because the OLEDs themselves emit light, viewing angles are broad and color performance is vivid, leading to eye-catching installations. Moreover, because only those pixels that display content are turned on, a transparent OLED showing video will exhibit better contrast and energy efficiency than traditional displays.

Planar introduced its first transparent display in 1999. The Planar technology demonstration at ISE 2015 continues the company’s work in see-through displays, which has included both LCD transparent displays and transparent electroluminescent (EL) displays.

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