Since the dawn of technology, screens have been inflexible, stubborn creatures. When you think about old televisions, or even new tablets, you don’t necessarily picture being able to bend them to your heart’s content. However, that has long been considered something of a “holy grail” for wearable tech enthusiasts. After all, once screens are fully flexible, it will open up a floodgate of watch tech, shirt tech and just about anything else you can dream up. However, creating this technology has proven to be difficult, with a smattering of promising results scattered among many defeats. Hold on to your OLED hats, though, here is another promising result!
Scientists as UCLA have managed to successfully develop a foldable and stretchy OLED screen that, in short order, could change how we think of what is possible in the world of wearable technology. Developed by rincipal investigator Qibing Pei, the tech takes the form of a working prototype display that must be seen to be believed. The display is capable of being stretched to twice its original size and can be folded a full 180 degrees without snapping. You can bend it. You can twist it. It’ll be fine. The secret here are silver nanowires, which sounds like something out of science fiction but we assure you are entirely real.
Of course this tech is still a ways off from showing off in big screen televisions, watches and other wearable odds and ends. In the meantime, you can watch this video of the technology in action and dream of one day when you’ll be able to own an umbrella you can also watch episodes of Breaking Bad on.
