4 ways ePaper displays are making our lives easier…
From ePaper’s humble beginnings in the 1970s right through to the boom of the eReader, it’s no exaggeration to say that ePaper technology has had an interesting history. While an initial lack of understanding around the technology saw companies hesitant to experiment with epaper, our recent State of Display research found that the tides have turned. 60% of the engineers we surveyed say they are likely or very likely to use the technology in the future as a worthy alternative to glass.
While glass may be cheaper, flexible plastic ePaper offers wider-ranging benefits. Its rugged, lightweight, flexible, daylight-readable and low power functionalities are known to combat common user frustrations, making it a compelling option for displays across a range of use cases.
Here are four notable ways the technology is simplifying our lives:
1. No more bulky wallets
Credit cards, debit cards, gym cards, loyalty cards. The list is endless and ever-increasing for what feels like a shrinking wallet. ePaper technology has touched a lot of aspects of daily lives, making everyday tasks simpler than ever before and it’s now the turn of the humble wallet.
The Fuze Card from BrilliantTS brings you a revolutionary multi-card technology that consolidates your entire wallet into a single card.
Whether it’s at a bar, restaurant or library, Fuze Card allows you to choose the card you wish to use and simply hand it over. To add a card, users have to take picture of their card’s barcode via the app or by swiping it through the card reader, allowing them to toggle seamlessly between their different cards using the ePaper display.
The readability, durability and light-weight functionalities of ePaper means that Fuze Card is perfect for any environment and significantly more convenient than a wallet or paying via a smartphone.
2. Safeguard your cryptocurrency
On the topic of smardcards, BrilliantTS has also recently launched FuzeW, a brand-new cryptocurrency hardware wallet. Capitalising on the original Fuze Card product, this innovation stores over 30 cryptocurrencies, while ensuring numerous layers of security and defense.
While it’s true that cryptocurrency has become increasingly prominent and popular in recent times, so too have the security risks affiliated with it. They have suffered many high-profile failures over the years, with attacks most commonly aimed at Bitcoin wallets and the compromise of private keys.
This is where FuzeW can help. The three buttons at the bottom of the ePaper display allows cardholders to toggle between and select designated currency, split transactions between payment methods, and lock the card for security purposes, through its highest security grade – CC EAL 5+ certification.
FuzeW’s display also shows real-time information about the cryptocurrency that is installed on the card itself, which makes it easier for users to use it anytime and anywhere when it is connected to the app.
3. Getting you from A to B with ease
ePaper displays have also found a home in the high-end luggage sector, replacing the traditional printed paper luggage tags that are typically tied to our suitcase handles during flight check-in, to display vital flight information. These paper tags are renowned for tearing, fading and misprinting, which has the potential to have a major impact on airport operations.
Lost and delayed luggage not only costs the air transport industry billions of dollars, it is also reported to be a frequent cause of passenger unhappiness.
The One Bag Tag provides a solution to this with its highly innovative smart luggage tag. It integrates ePaper technology to create a far more durable label that’s resistant to tears, rips and folds, while also ensuring that the tag stays readable and attached to the luggage. In addition, electronic ink doesn’t smear or fade and only draws power to alter the image on the tag, making it incredibly low maintenance.
These ePaper luggage tags can also be reused and refreshed for multiple flights, providing a green solution to paper and minimising the impact to the environment.
4. Reading in the summer sun
On the topic of travel, there is nothing worse than hunting around for a bit of shade while on holiday to get out of the direct sunlight so you can read your latest e-book on your tablet. Unlike tablets with LCD and OLED displays which impede the reading experience in bright sunshine, an ePaper’s reflective screen is always easy to read as it reflects light like ordinary paper.
An e-reader is also small, lightweight and allows you to store hundreds of books on one device. It takes up no room in your suitcase, and you will never run out of reading material or lug around books that you don’t get to read.
In addition, unlike LCD or OLED tablets, which require a constant source of power to display anything, once an e-reader is showing an image, it will remain there and will not consume any power. Even if you remove the power source completely, whatever is on the display will remain visible; a key reason why devices using ePaper have such long battery life, stealing a march on glass-screened rivals.
This means you can take your reader to the beach or pool-side and not be concerned about it running out of power half way through the day.
From smart wallets to smart luggage tags and e-readers, ePaper displays offer wide-ranging benefits to consumers and provide a simple solution to known user frustrations. They also provide a very powerful business case and can enable companies to tap into and explore exciting new opportunities for market growth, differentiation and competitive advantage.