Imagine walking into the room of tomorrow… no need to reach for a light switch; the walls are already gently glowing with scenes of an undersea paradise. Hit the remote and one wall transforms into a floor-to-ceiling TV screen or the backdrop to the newest video game.
Sound like a dream? Engineers at Japan’s Toshiba corporation are well on the way to making it reality.
The crux of the biscuit is the wallpaper. Not just ANY wallpaper, of course, this is a specially developed material that utilizes flexible OLED (organic electroluminescence) screen technology to emit light in a controlled manner.
Anything from a featureless glow that serves as room lighting to action-packed movies, TV programs and computer games is possible. Those impressed by the newest flat screen TV wall mounts are sure to do a neck-snapping double take.
Although OLEDs are not new, their low efficiency has been a roadblock to more widespread applications. Toshiba’s answer is nanotechnology.
According to Toshiba spokesman Kaori Hiraki, “The wallpaper uses light that has been redirected by an ultra-fine grating that is fabricated by self-assembled nano particles.” It would seem that the effect might be similar to that of a Fresnel lens like those used in traffic lights, amplifying the intensity without requiring additional energy.
