Tech Talk

June 2005

Military Seeks Flexible, Thin Computer Screens

Edited by Robert H. Williams

The Army Research Laboratory and Arizona State University have partnered in a $44 million deal to develop computer displays that can be incorporated as part of a soldier’s uniform. The goal is to produce flexible, wafer-thin, rugged displays that require less power than current flat panel monitors.

A new Flexible Display Research Center in Arizona will focus on commercial applications, but Army officials said they are confident these next generation screens will find wide use in the military. The displays presumably could be rolled up and stowed in a soldier’s pocket.

The displays will also be “integrated with computation, communications and global positioning subsystems,” said John Miller, director of the Army research lab. So far, officials say, four-inch screens have been developed, noting that the aim is to eventually produce 17-inch flexible screens.