Simple Transparent Display System Could Be Applied As Thin Plastic Coating
MIT researchers have developed a new approach to transparent displays that would offer many advantages over current technology. Many "heads-up" display systems use a mirror or beam-splitter to project an image directly into the user's eyes, making it appear that the display is hovering in space. These systems have a limited angle of view because the eyes must be in the right position. With the new system, the image appears on the glass itself, and can be seen from a wide array of angles. Other transparent displays use electronics integrated into the glass - organic light-emitting diodes for the display, and transparent electronics to control them. These systems can be complex and expensive, and their transparency is limited. In MIT's new system, resonant nanoparticles are embedded in a transparent polymer. These particles can be tuned to scatter only certain wavelengths, colors, or light, while letting all the rest pass through.