The FLASHED (Flexible Large Area Sensors for Highly Enhanced Displays) consortium was
formed to develop a large area (A3 size) pressure sensitive display. The development
timeframe is 36 months and the goal is to produce a demonstration piece. Cambridge (UK)
based Plastic Logic's participation was sought due to its wealth of experience in the
development and industrialisation of flexible organic thin film transistor (OTFT)
backplanes for display and sensor applications.
The other participating organisations are Microsoft Research Ltd, also Cambridge
based, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Forderung der angewandten Forschung e.V based in
Germany, Media Interaction Lab from the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and
JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, both based in Austria. In addition to
Plastic Logic's OTFT experience it, along with Media Interaction Lab and Microsoft
Research, has experience in the creation and refining of demonstrator pieces.
As well as the demonstrator piece, another commercially-important legacy will be the
resultant portfolio of intellectual property (IP), the licensing and income from which
will be distributed to the participating organisations in accordance with their
pre-existing IP and the particular value they added. The outcome of the FLASHED project
will be to give new impetus to the European display and printed sensor sectors throughout
the value chain. It helps position the emerging European flexible electronics industry in
the equivalent place to that currently occupied by the Asian glass-based display industry
and it will create new opportunities for European companies, not in linear improvements to
existing solutions but in the creation of new and innovative products.
The technology emphasis of the FLASHED device is to develop flexible, energy
efficient, sustainable, cost efficient flexible display. Great emphasis has been placed on
user-friendly interfaces that will incorporate haptic or acoustic feedback with a
pressure-sensing touchscreen.
Four of the main markets are touchscreens, flexible electrophoretic displays, flexible
multimedia displays (where Plastic Logic already has active programmes in flexible LCD and
OLED) and printed sensors. The projected 2017 market value in US$ for such are 28bn, 6bn,
100bn and 0.22bn respectively, with the latter possibly rising to US$20bn for
pressure-sensitive touch interfaces. Applications include touchscreens, e-readers plus low
power applications such as smart cards and wearable devices, flexible OLED and consumer
products, smart packaging and signage.
