Flexible Displays at Xerox and Electronic Paper This report traces the origins of Electronic Paper, its initial failure and its modern success. It focuses on the commercial applications, market testing and limitations of the technology using latest research. This report also uses key elements of the innovation process management framework and innovation theories to assess the future of flexible display.
Executive Summary. The rise and fall of Gyricon The world’s first electronic paper display (EPD) was invented in the 1970’s, however it took another 40 years to commercialize the product successfully. The technology was invented by Nicholas Sheridon at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). It was called Gyricon and and it was a radical innovation that created an entirely new market. His vision was for this EPD to replace paper and to enable a paperless office. Displays at the time were of poor brightness and caused discomfort to the reader, forcing people to print the document on paper instead. EPD is designed to replicate the look and feel of real paper as accurately as possible. This provides a comfortable viewing experience similar to traditional paper. His internally sourced innovation proved initially successful in initial market tests at department stores such as the Federated Department Stores (Macy’s) and the Array Marketing Group saw critical appraisal and positive response from the market. .
Xerox refused to give Gyricon a place in its portfolio of products because it was in the printing and document management business and therefore shutdown the Gyricon project. Gyricon lost its initial partnership with 3M because it was impossible for 3M to manufacture low cost EPD at the time. The technology was too expensive to produce, resulting in a short product innovation life cycle. E Ink Corporation pioneered the science behind modern day EPD’s. Modern day EPD’s are razor slim, flexible and offer the opportunity to develop an entirely new ecosystem of devices. Current products that utilize modern EPD include the Amazon Kindle, Pebble Smartwatch, Nook, Kobo E-Readers and the Motorola F3, all of which have remarkable battery life due to EPD technology. Gyricon’s successful counterpart E Ink corporation mass commercialized EPDs by partnering with Philips and IBM. Esquire magazine was the world’s first magazine to feature multimedia content on its cover.
Flexible displays at Xerox & Electronic Paper / /
4
The future of electronic paper display EPD’s are a sub-category of flexible displays and the first of its kind. Cutting edge AMOLED displays rival the quality compared to EPDs. These screens offer full color, high resolution and excellent color reproduction, unlike the gray scale of EPDs. Electronic giants such as Samsung and LG are pushing ahead with their implementation and have launched the world’s first flexible screen smartphones and TVs. AMOLED displays are the most superior type of flexible displays in terms of display quality. AMOLED has applications in a wide diversity of mass consumer electronic products such as televisions and cellphones. This diversity will prove their greater commercial potential than EPDs.
Contents.
paving way for the future of display technology //
Introduction...................................................7 Origins of EPD.............................................10 Commercial Applications...........................14 Commercial Partnerships...........................18 Market Testing.............................................22 Modern improvements of EPD...................26 Future of Flexible Display...........................30
6
Introduction.
Flexible displays at Xerox & Electronic Paper / /
Xerox Corporation Limited was founded in 1906 and has 12,000+ active patents, a testament to its dedication to innovation (Xerox, 2014).
Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Corporation, the innovation wing directed to innovative projects has developed the graphical user interface (GUI), laser printing, WYSIWYG text editors and the ethernet. The first flexible electronic paper display was invented at Xerox PARC however the modern day flexible paper display is manufactured with E Ink Corporation’s technology. The current flexible display screen products market is forecasted at over $67.7bil by 2023 (IHS, 2013). This comprises of applications in e-book readers, tablets and smartphones. It should be noted that EPD was the first type of flexible screen however initial efforts to commercialize the product were unsuccessful by the original inventor, despite being a radical innovation and successfully tested in the market. Newer efforts have resulted in cutting edge flexible display screens that are far superior to current displays.
8
This report will identify where the idea was sourced and analyze key components of the innovation management process. It will evaluate the display against current competition and ascertain its future prospects. Key theories from Tidd & Bessant (2009) will be used along with Schumpeter’s (1934) theories of economic development. Secondary sources also include The Economist and research databases from the Institute of Consulting. Industry leading technology press agencies such as ZDNet and Engadget will also be used. Due to the novel nature of some key technologies and products, emperical evidence is limited to a certain extent.
Key Words: Electronic paper display, AMOLED, Gyricon, LCD, CRT, Nicholas Sheridon
Origins of Flexible Displays.
Flexible displays at Xerox & Electronic Paper / /
10
Humble beginnings at PARC Flexible electronic paper displays (EPD) have humble beginnings at Xerox Corporations’ Palo Alto Research Corporation (PARC) in the late 60’s (Genuth, 2007). Nicholas Sheridon had created a new market for EPD products (Schumpeter, 1934). The product was new to the world of inefficient display techologies (Tidd & Bessant, 2009). His vision was for electronic paper displays to replace traditional paper displays (PARC, 2003). Sheridon also had ambitions for a paperless office where one sheet of EPD could replace reams unused paper (Mellor, 2003). The need for this type of display came from the problems that office workers at the Xerox research center were experiencing. The large Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) displays used at the workplace had low brightness and it was difficult to read long documents on these displays. Several scientists including Sheridon were asked to develop a display for brightly lit environments and for easy readability.
Modern commercialized EPD displays are superior to both traditional Liquid Crystal Displays and CRT devices (The Economist, 2009). Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) displays have a sheet of glass behind them to create their structure. The problem was that these LCD displays can crack if mis-handled. LCD displays also consume excessive power because they required a backlight to function. Backlights utilize an array of lights behind the display to illuminate the screen. EPD has combated all these shortfalls. EPD is a ‘reflective’ display, and does not need the excessive power requirements of backlit displays. The display uses natural surrounding light to reflect off the screen and make content visible.
Gryicon.
Beads that rotate in fluid when an electric charge is passed through to produce an image on screen.
Current EPD products in market.
Flexible displays at Xerox & Electronic Paper / /
Amazon, Motorola, Nook & Lexar This EPD is currently found on a diversity of commercial applications such as advertising signages, the Pebble Smartwatch and e-readers from Amazon.com, Kobo and Nook. Devices such as these however, do not take the advantage of the flexibility aspect of EPD. Instead, they use the razor thinness of EPD to design slim devices. Experimentation by Hewlett Packard in 2010 led to them stating that they did not see the use of display flexibility in current consumer products (Engadget, 2010). EPDs also do not need a constant source of electric supply. Once the particles of E-ink had assembled a certain structure, the ink would retain this, so content is still visible on the screen after the device is powered down. This delivers unprecedented battery savings. The Kindle Paperwhite can last 8 weeks on a full charge while the Motorola F3 cellphone can last up to 2 weeks (Engadget, 2011). Older consumer electronic devices have proved themselves highly innovative through the novel use of E-ink. The Lexar flash drive has a display of the capacity left on the device, even if it is not plugged in (Lexar, 2007).
14
.The Kindle Paperwhite
.The Pebble Smartwatch
.Kobo Ebook Reader
Motorola F3 Phone.
.Lexar Jumpdrive
Commercial Partnerships.
Flexible displays at Xerox & Electronic Paper / /
The end of Gryicon & 3M The knowledge, effort and skills combined with Gryicon’s entrepreneurial management resulted in a highly valuable product (Roberts, 1980). Xerox should have seen this as a potential blue ocean strategy (Kim & Mauborgne, 2005). Despite this, Xerox top management highlighted to Sheridon that Xerox was not in the display business so the Gyricon project was closed in the 1970’s and became a spin off subsidiary. It was originally launched as an incubation project by Xerox. Gryicon had initially partnered with 3M to develop the materials for its displays on messaging boards but 3M ended this partnership (MIT, 2001). Gyricon’s innovation lifecycle was ended in 2005, due to its inability to manufacture low cost EPD. The original Gryicon EPD technology was of poor quality and too expensive to produce. E Ink’s partnerships helped produce the now commercial version of EPD.
18
The Rise of E Ink Corporation The original Gryicon EPD technology was of poor quality and too expensive to produce. E Ink’s partnerships helped produce the now commercial version of EPD. In 1998, Massachusetts based E Ink Corporation partnered sucessfully with Philips and IBM to commercialize and mass produce cutting edge EPD (Desmarais, 2003). It is the principal manufacturer for such displays in modern products for Barnes & Noble, Amazon.COM, Sony, Casio, Hitachi and Motorola. The partnership paved way for E Ink to become a successful manufacturer of EPD as it could manufacture them cheaper and at unprecedented quality compared to Gyricon (E Ink, 2013). Modern applications of E Inks improved technology can also be seen in Esquire magazine’s front cover, an issue that had moving photography on the cover (next page).
Magazine Electronic Paper.
The rectangular portion in the middle shows a series of moving photographs
Sucessful EPD market testing.
Flexible displays at Xerox & Electronic Paper / /
Positive response and market demand Gyricon rolled out the product to be used in store shelf displays, promotions and billboards (Businesswire, 2000). Gyricon received highly positive responses from test marketing and the initial roll out of of its EPD technology into advertising boards. Its MasteroSign systems received strong demand from the retail sector. The technology was distributed to leading retailers such as Federated Department Stores (Macy’s) and the Array Marketing Group (Prnewswire, 2001). Despite this, Gyricon soon shut operations and E Ink Corporation became the first to sucessfully mass produce EPDs. E Ink’s first successful market test was a sign above a NIKE Quest shoe at JC Penny stores.
22
Updatable, reusabe tags.
Modern E Ink technology has found its way to replace shopping tags which can be updated over Wi-Fi and reused.
Incremental Innovations.
Flexible displays at Xerox & Electronic Paper / /
Improvements over time The market potential for EPDs are more specialized for digital sinage, such as billboards, displays at public transport stations and E-Readers (E Ink, 2014). E Inks partnership with Sony has resulted in the ‘production ready’ E Ink Mobius. This is the worlds first EPD product with a flexible EPD display. The device was launched in March 2014 (Extremetech, 2014). A recent improvement to the EPD displays is color EPD technology (Fujitsu, 2010). Fujitsu has attempted to develop this color EPD, however the price of color e-readers outweighs their benefits (Buckley, 2013). In 2013, E Inks revenues took a sharp plunge due to the increasing intensity of competition from popular counterparts such as iPads® and Android ™ Tablets which use LCD and LED displays (Owen, 2013).
26
The birth of AMOLED Flexible AMOLED is relatively new in application and therefore is still at the early adopter stage of the innovation lifecycle (Everett, 1962). Bigger players in the high tech industry such as Samsung, LG and NEC are currently further expanding the horizon by experimenting with an incremental but much needed improvement, the flexible Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED) display (Symington, 2014). AMOLED flexible technology shows a diversity of applications compared to the traditional EPD. The AMOLED technology provides full color, vivid and high resolution imaging and was introduced into the worlds first phone with a curved display, the Samsung Round (Samsung, 2013). It is able to consume minimal battery life compared to popular LCD and LED technology (Digital Trends, 2012). It also provides a more visually rich display due to its high quality color reproduction. AMOLED also leads to better battery savings than LCD (Ignis Innovation, 2014). AMOLED is not designed to replace the goal of EPD and replicate a natural paper display and requires a consistent battery source but it has more commercial potential as it can be the de facto technology for cellphones, TVs digital cameras and tablets (Hyunkoo, 2010).
Flexible Full Color.
Flexible displays at Xerox & Electronic Paper / /
28
The future of flexible.
Flexible displays at Xerox & Electronic Paper / /
30
Flexible paper inspired AMOLED will mark the impact of EPDs EPD has proven to pave way for radical improvements over aging LCD and CRT displays. It makes a paper like display quality, enhancing readability and can be manufactured for ultra slim form factor devices. The breakthrough technology consumes little or even no power to operate. Despite this, EPDs have poor refresh rates. Switching from one screen to another produces a noticeable flashing. It therefore unable to allow for a rich, interactive and user engaging display. The technology has been extremely successful in a diversity of ebook readers and holds promise for wearable technology like the Pebble watch however, its inability to provide an engaging experience is its key drawback. The incremental innovation of AMOLED counters this.
The EPD market is forecasted to grow to $5.73bil by 2015 while the entire flexible display market only $67.7bln by 2023 (IHS, 2013). The worlds first flexible AMOLED product was announced in 2014 and therefore is relatively new compared the the 1970’s EPD. AMOLEDs diversity of applications will prove their greater commercial potential once they find their way into the early and late majority stages of the innovation lifecycle. The diversity of AMOLEDs applications will enable it to capture a larger share of the flexible display market.
References. Businesswire (2000) Xerox Spins Out ‘Gyricon Media Inc.’ To Commercialize Electronic Reusable Paper- The Paper of the Future. Available at: http:// www.thefreelibrary.com/Xerox+Spins+Out+%60Gyricon+Media+Inc.%27+To+Commercialize+Electronic...-a067627394 (Accessed: 03/14). Cope, B. and Kalantzis, D. (2001) Print and Electronic Text Convergence. 1st edn. Illinois: Common Ground Publishing. Desmarias, N. (2003) ‘Innovations Affecting Us- E-Ink and Digital Paper’ Against the Grain, 14 (6), pp. 15/06/2014. Extreme Tech (2013) Sony’s 13-inch Digital Paper is the first device to use a flexible e-ink display. Available at: http://www.extremetech.com/computing/179386sonys-13-inch-digital-paper-is-the-first-device-to-use-aflexible-e-ink-display (Accessed: 03/14). Genuth, I. (2007) The Future of Electronic Paper. Available at: http://thefutureofthings.com/3081-the-future-ofelectronic-paper/ (Accessed: 3/10). IHS (2013) Global Digital Sinage nears $14 billion, Spurred by Real Time Analytics in Retail. Available at: http://press.ihs.com/press-release/design-supply-chain-media/global-digital-signage-market-nears14-billion-spurred-real- (Accessed: 03/16).
Markets and Markets (2013) Global E-Paper market worth $5.73bil by 2015. Available at: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/global-e-paper-market.asp (Accessed: 03/10). Melanson, D. (2010) HP Flexible display unfurled on video. Available at: http://www.engadget. com/2010/03/20/hp-flexible-display-unfurled-on-video/ (Accessed: 03/10). Owen, L. H. (2013) Bad sign for e-readers? E Ink sales plunge. Available at: http://gigaom.com/2013/08/16/ bad-sign-for-e-readers-e-ink-sales-plunge/ (Accessed: 03/12). PARC (2003) Gyricon LLC and the World of Electronic Paper. Available at: http://www.parc.com/event/191/ gyricon-llc-and-the-world-of-electronic-paper.html (Accessed: 03/10). PR Newswire (2001) Grycon Media answers market demand for Remote Controlled Digital Sinage with S.A.M. Available at: http://www.prnewswire.com/ news-releases/gyricon-media-inc-answers-marketdemand-for-remote-controlled-dynamic-signage-withsam---the-shoppers-answer-machine-72321612.html (Accessed: 03/16). Schunpeter, J. A. (1934) The Theory of Economic Development. 1st edn. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
IHS (2013) Flexible display market to reach $67.7bil by 2023. Available at: http://www.ihs.com/products/ supply-chain/electronics-media/consumer-electronics. aspx (Accessed: 03/16).
The Economist (2009) Bend me, Shape me, anyway you want. Available at: http://www.economist.com/ node/12971020 (Accessed: 03/10).
Joire, M. (2011) MOTOFONE F3, the Zombie apocalypse survival phone. Available at: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/27/motofone-f3-the-zombie-apocalypse-survival-phone-video/ (Accessed: 03/12).
Tidd, J. and Bessant, J. (2009) Managing Innovation. http://www.bitrebels.com/technology/amoled-epaperdisplays-set-for-market-in-2014/ edn. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Klein, A. (2000) E Ink writes its future on e-paper. Available at: http://www.zdnet.com/news/e-ink-writesits-future-on-e-paper/104934 (Accessed: 03/12).
Xerox (2014) Xerox at a Glance. Available at: http:// www.xerox.com/about-xerox/company-facts/enus.html (Accessed: 03/10).
Leo, A. (2001) Start Ups struggle in the E-Paper chase. Available at: http://www.technologyreview.com/ news/400921/startups-struggle-in-the-e-paper-chase/ (Accessed: 03/14).
Flexible displays at Xerox & Electronic Paper / /
32
Please don’t print.
There’s an E Reader waiting to be sold.