Thursday, January 29, 2009

U.S. Army Signs Five-Year Contract Renewal With ASU's Flexible Display Center

The U.S. Army recently signed a five-year $50 million contract renewal with Arizona State University’s Flexible Display Center.

The Army’s interest in flexible displays is as an enabling technology that can improve performance of its people on the ground by providing instantaneous information to even the most remote of locations. The technology could have widespread commercial use.

Developing flexible displays has meant reworking conventional computer displays from the ground up. In order to make flexible displays -- flexible enough to be body contouring or even folded or rolled up -- FDC researchers and their industrial partners have developed new display designs, worked with new materials for the displays and associated electronics, and re-worked existing manufacturing methods.

“The Flexible Display Center could lead to an entirely new industry, one that is grown here in Arizona, and would not be possible without the partnership of the U.S. Army,” said President Crow.