The organizers of EuroDisplay 2015, which takes place September 21–23 in Ghent, Belgium, are now soliciting papers. Suggested topics include Display Materials, Display Applications, Additive Manufacturing, Metrology, Displays and Lighting, OLEDs and Organic Electronics, and Liquid Crystals Beyond Displays. However, the submission of papers dealing with any aspect of information displays is highly encouraged. Abstracts are due April 1, 2015.
EuroDisplay, which is sponsored by the Society for Information Display, is also being organized by Ghent University this year and, in particular, by two of its research groups: the Centre for Microsystems Technology and the Liquid Crystal & Photonics Group. EuroDisplay is part of the IDRC (International Display Research Conference) series of SID-sponsored conferences and is slightly more focused on academic research than on product development, as compared to a conference such as Display Week.
“EuroDisplay has a more intimate look and feel than [for example] the SID symposium or IDW,” says General Chair Herbert De Smet, adding that the number of parallel sessions is smaller, making it easier to attend all the sessions of interest. “EuroDisplay is a conference on a human scale and in a unique setting, facilitating easy networking and allowing for in-depth discussions of display-related research topics,” he says. This year’s unique setting is Het Pand, a former monastery owned by Ghent University that is located along a channel in the medieval center of Ghent. Ghent itself is a charming city and hidden gem, named one of Lonely Planet’s top 10 cities to visit in 2011 (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1: Ghent, Belgium, site of EuroDisplay 2015, is renowned for its medieval architecture. St. Michael’s Bridge, lower right, is a famous landmark. Image courtesy www.visitgent.be.
Keynote speakers at EuroDisplay will include Ian Underwood of the University of Edinburgh, who will speak about the commercial track record and potential of European display research in the global market; Kayvan Mirza from Optinvent, who will discuss wearable displays as the next mobile paradigm; and Nelson Tabiryan of Beam Company, whose topic will be “The Fourth Generation of Optics.”
According to the conference organizers: “We aim to make Euro-Display 2015 the ideal place for networking between all involved in display-related research and development. The conference will be a mixture of presentations by academia and industry with a showcase of new display technologies during the exhibition.”
For more information about EuroDisplay 2015 and to submit an abstract, visit www.sideurodisplay.org. General Chair De Smet can be reached at Herbert.DeSmet@elis.UGent.be.
Futaba Corporation of America won the first-ever Best-in-Show award at the 20th Annual Vehicle Displays and Interfaces Symposium and Exhibition held in Dearborn, Michigan, last October. Futaba is a maker of displays and touch-screen products for automotive, medical, industrial, and consumer markets. The award went to the Futaba exhibit for its demonstration of a range of products, including its “mature” vacuum fluorescent displays, its OLED technology, and its capacitive touch panels (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2: Futaba Corporation of America’s exhibit won the first-ever Best-in-Show award (see ribbon at right) at the 2014 Vehicle Displays and Interfaces exhibition. From left to right are Jeff Hatfield, Automotive Engineering Manager; Makoto Akira, Engineering Manager, Strategic Development; and Robert Dohring, Senior Automotive Sales Manager.
Of particular interest, noted awards committee member Silviu Pala, was Futaba’s new OLED technology for vehicle panel knobs, which allows a dead-front design with a true black background. “The issue with LCD technology,” says Silviu Pala, “is that you can see the outline of the square display [due to the backlighting].” OLED displays eliminate the square look at a cost lower than that of TFT-LCDs, he adds. Robert Dohring, Senior Automotive Sales Manager at Futaba, explains that OLED displays are less expensive from a system standpoint because as an emissive technology they do not require the backlighting, bezel, and other components needed for an LCD.
The winning exhibit was chosen among 32 on hand at the 20th annual event. A panel of experts, led by the executive committee of the Michigan Chapter of the SID, made the decision.
— Jenny Donelan