E-paper was first developed in the 1970's by Xerox researcher Nick Sheridon, who dubbed it Gyricon. Gyricon consisted of miniature statically charged balls that are black on one side and white on the other, which could be arranged to display text and images through an electrical charge (pictured above). Although this technology was slow to take off, it lead to further developments in the 1990's, which attempted to integrate color, low power consumption, and flexible plastic displays. Last April Sony unleased their LIBRIe, a glorified PDA that utilizes an e-paper display. Earlier this month, E-Ink unveiled their version of a bright, low power, flexible, color display.
Whether you call it e-paper or e-ink, it can be implemented in everything from programmable signage (ie billboards, and advertisements) to consumer products (ie credit cards, and PDAs) and wearable fashion (ie watches, and clothing). The main benefit of this technology is that it could successfully serve as an alternative to paper. In this regard, instead of getting the Saturday post delivered to your door, an electronic copy could be downloaded onto your e-paper device. Certainly this is similar to the functionality of a PDA, however with a large viewable screen, and thin, flexible material, e-paper could display more information, and all the while by consuming less power. Considering the atrocious possibility of Burger King employees literally wearing commercials as uniforms, and the distraction of theatrical roadside billboards, the environmental promise of e-paper significantly outweighs the pessimism.
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