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People who follow display technologies will know that the field is witnessing a ton of experimentation right now. Even though we have foldable devices, display manufacturers are working on making foldable devices even better. We also have some tremendous rollable displays and rollable TVs. But stretchable ones? Well, manufacturers like LG are also making some seriously impressive strides in that.
LG Display demonstrated a 12-inch panel that can be stretched up to 14 inches and released back to 12-inch without damaging it.
This bendy, flexible display, or “free-form” display as LG calls it, can be used in clothing and furniture as it can easily conform to complex shapes, and the ability to stretch will make it more comfortable to wear or sit on.
LG Display foresees in various industries, including “fashion, wearables, mobility, and gaming.” It can even find a place in the automobile and aircraft industry.
The display is of pretty high quality as far as prototype panels go. At 100ppi, it has a pixel density similar to that of a 40” 4K TV and has RGB-colour capabilities. The display is built on a particular silicon substrate used for contact lenses. It features micro-LEDs smaller than 40 micrometers connected via S-shaped springs instead of straight wires so that they can stretch about 20 percent without any damage or breakage.
We’ve seen stretchable display prototypes before. There was one from Royole last year, which could stretch to about 30 percent and have a theoretical pixel density of 120ppi. However, the demo unit that was showcased was a small 2.7-inch panel with a resolution of 96X60 pixels.
A few years before that, in 2017, Samsung also showcased a stretchable display, though that one was mainly able to survive deformation or essential pressing hard down on the flexible display rather than stretch to a new size.
