The Society for Information Display (SID), in collaboration with IHS Technology, today unveiled the preliminary program for its Flexible Displays event, being held at Display Week 2014 (San Diego Convention Center, June 1-6). In its first year as part of the Market Focus Conference (MFC) series, this event investigates how flexible displays are 'flexing their muscle' as they head from the laboratory and into the commercial market.
The past year has seen market introduction of products employing flexible displays.
Display manufacturers, system-level companies and leading IHS and industry analysts ̶ including Corning, E Ink, Nanolumens, Holst Centre, Printless Plans and Bardsley Consulting ̶ will come together on Thursday, June 5, to discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with getting flexible devices to market. Delegates will learn how the new design opportunities enabled by flexible displays can revolutionize traditional application markets. Additionally, speakers will be considering new markets that may open up as flexible displays become more widely available. Delegates will walk away with more information about novel form factors, new manufacturing processes, and the implications these changes may have on the market for flexible displays.
A number of conferences over the past decade have covered the topic of flexible displays, but in recent years, these events have become focused less on displays, and more on other electronics devices that can benefit from flexible substrate technologies. In part, this is due to the complexity of display technologies—because, to be fully deployable, flexible displays need accompanying devices to be flexible as well.
The conference is broken into four sessions that will examine real market opportunities for flexible displays:
Flexible Displays: Market Analysis
While the notion of flexible displays is appealing, applications that actually demand fully flexible display devices have been limited in concept. In the past decade, the industry has seen many prototypes, but it is still waiting to identify just where the market is likely to grow. This session will consider the various development efforts and attempt to identify relevant market opportunities.
Large-area Flexible Displays
Several companies are working on large-area flexible displays for applications in the home, digital advertising, possible desktop solutions, and large-scale visualization. This session considers some of the leading opportunities for large-scale displays that are constructed on a flexible substrate.
Flexible Displays: Portable and Wearable Devices
Small-size applications appear to be a great opportunity for flexible displays. Putting a large-area display into a small package requires some level of flexibility. Moreover, the fast-growing segment related to wearable devices (including watches, jewelry and other accessories) by definition requires displays with some level of conformability or flexibility. This session features speakers that are engaged with development efforts for small and medium-sized flexible displays.
Novel Solutions using Flexible Displays: The Search for the Killer App
Even considering large-area and small/medium market segments, it's not easy to identify applications that truly demand flexibility. This session looks at several novel segments that might prove to be a "killer app" for flexible displays.
