There used to be a funny story about a clueless soul who wanted to scan his document by putting it up against the computer monitor. Today, this is becoming reality.
Sharp Corp. says they have developed a new display technology that features a touch screen LCD with scanning function. You literally put your document up against the screen to scan it.
This is now possible because each pixel in this new LCD system has a built-in optical sensor like those in a scanner.
But the main use of this new technology is to enhance the input capabilities of the touch screen. The new system makes it possible to make thinner displays by eliminating the need to bond a film to the panel for touch screen functions. The optical sensor built into each pixel makes the screen a lot more responsive to touch. Plus, you can easily scan business cards into your device by just placing it on top of the screen.
We will begin to see this optical LCD technology first in mobile devices like smartphones, PDAs and UMPCs. Sharp is already making sample shipments this month, with volume production scheduled next spring.
[Site: Sharp-World.com]