Displays these days are marketed in terms of resolution where we are seeing terms like 4K, 5K, and even 8K tossed around. We are also seeing how displays have come a long way where they are impossibly thin and have an almost bezel-free design. However in the future things might change because forget resolution and design, how about a floating display?
Recently the researchers at the Universities of Sussex and Bristol have created a display that can actually float mid-air thanks to the use of ultrasonic forces. Dubbed JOLED, in the video above the researchers demonstrate their technology by using tiny polystyrene beads that can levitate thanks to speakers placed above and below them, with each bead sitting in its own ultrasound pocket.
By modulating the sound, it causes the beads to move around and change position. The researchers then tried painting one side of the beads in black and coating them in titanium dioxide, and the end result were beads that could change direction, thus displaying different colors (in this case either black or white).
Granted this isn’t exactly a very high-resolution display since it is comprised of beads in a grid of 6 x 7, but it is an interesting development. Some potential uses in commercial or tourism settings has been suggested. In any case if you have a few minutes to spare, you can check it out in action in the video above.
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