Kindle 2 might be getting all the attention – However, it seems Xerox had ePaper a long, long time before Amazon came out with the Kindle.
The future of things has a fascinating interview with Nicholas K. Sheridon, who invented a technology in 1974, while working at Xerox PARC Labs, that became the basis for all the different ePapers we see today.
The article has a very comprehensive history of Xerox’s involvement with epaper. And it has an image (courtesy the site) of ‘Gyricon material’ which is the first epaper prototype (it’s from 1974) -
- Xerox had the beginnings of an ePaper in 1974
A PC World article on Xerox’s ePaper from 1999 has this gem -
They may have let the graphical user interface slip through their fingers, but the leaders at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center aren’t about to let their latest digital invention get away.
The copier company is gearing up to move electronic paper from the research laboratory to commercial production.
Wonder how that worked out.
Mr. Sheridan had this to say about what he’s doing now -
Xerox closed its Gyricon operation in December 2005 for financial reasons. I was director of research. I am now working independently and doing some consulting. And, yes, I am working to invent the perfect e-paper medium.
Oh, there’s a little twist.
Wikipedia tells us -
Fuji Xerox was established in 1962 as a 50:50 partnership with Rank Xerox. Rank Xerox was absorbed into Xerox Corporation in 1997.
And there’s this page at FujiXerox.com talking about their ePaper, and wow - FujiXerox’s photo-addressable electronic paper looks and sounds pretty cool.
Here’s how it works -
Fig. 1: Cross-sectional drawing of a Photo-Addressable Electronic Paper
Here’s what it looks like -
Fuji Xerox ePaper
The details:
Fuji Xerox has been conducting research and development on electronic paper as a new medium for presenting documents. While maintaining the desirable qualities of normal paper, electronic paper does not require space for storage, can be accessed instantly from anywhere, offers superior search qualities and, can be accessed restrictedly as the need arises.
The electronic paper introduced here is a Photo-Addressable Electronic Paper incorporating copy machine technology.
This product is a new image-display device, consisting of an organic photoconductor and microcapsulated cholesteric liquid crystal (Fig. 1). It instantly converts optical signals into image signals, and can be held in the user’s hand. Although it requires electric power during the writing process, it can retain the image after writing without electric power.
The Photo-Addressable Electronic Paper has the following features:
· Electronically Rewritable
· Reflective like paper and easily viewable
· Does not require energy to retain the displayed image
· Thin, lightweight, and flexible
This may or may not be the ePaper technology on which the super expensive, color ePaper Fujitsu FLEPia is built. In either case – a worthy competitor for Kindle 2 if it can hit a reasonable price point.
Filed under: evolution Tagged: | epaper history
