E Ink : From Taiwan to New Town

Earlier this year, I was in Taiwan for attending Computex 2018. In course of the scheduled tours and interactions, I came to know of a display technology that uses very little power. The screen of the Kindle e-book reader is an example of use of e-ink. For my Kindle e-book procured some time ago from Amazon, I don't have to charge its battery for weeks and months. They say that almost zero power is consumed if one doesn't change the display and only a tiny amount of power is consumed when the display changes. The display clarity is so good that people often mistake the display on a switched-off Kindle to be a paper stuck on it !

Such a low power high contrast display makes e-ink an ideal choice for public announcements, notices, conference schedules and reading material. The displays can be uploaded or changed from a laptop connected through a Wi Fi. However, it is not easily available in India.

With the help of TAITRA (the business development agency of Taiwan) office in Kolkata (see https://kolkata.taiwantrade.com/ ), I got connected to E-Ink Headquarters in Taiwan ( see https://www.eink.com/ ) who advised their Bangalore partner, who is just developing the technology and is yet to launch it commercially, to do a pilot in New Town. I chose the bus shed near Gate 2 of Eco Park. So next time you go to Eco Park or Misti Hub, do try to see the e-ink display. Here is a photo.

I think we need to do something to reduce the reflection from the front screen and to have a LED lighting to improve readability at night. We may also require a bigger size for prominent outdoor display.

We will evaluate the performance and discuss with E-Ink partner in India before replicating.