Samsung has introduced at the annual Display Week the Rollable Flex panel, which can unroll from just 49mm to 254.4mm. In addition, it has also introduced the even more interesting OLED Display Sensor panel that offers fingerprint and blood pressure detection on the OLED panel without the need for a separate module. The company claims that the Rollable Flex panel unrolls on an “O-shaped axis like a scroll,” allowing it to “turn a large, hard-to-carry display into a portable form factor.” #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */
The Sensor OLED Display panel, for its part, looks like it could have interesting implications for future smartphones. For starters, unlike the in-display fingerprint sensors used in most modern phones, the OLED Display Sensor “can recognize fingerprints anywhere on the screen.” In theory, that would make it much quicker and easier to unlock a phone with your fingerprint. But perhaps most interesting is its ability to measure a person’s “heart rate, blood pressure, and stress level” from their fingers.
The technology works by reading light from the OLED screen as its reflection changes due to the “contraction and relaxation of the blood vessels inside the finger.” Samsung Display indicates that it works with a single finger, but also mentions reading this information from two fingers simultaneously for a more accurate measurement of blood pressure taken in both arms. All of this functionality is built directly into the OLED screen itself, without the need for a separate module like most modern fingerprint sensors. It’s unclear how accurate these readings can be, how long the process takes, or whether they can be taken at the same time a fingerprint is used for authentication. But the Sensor OLED Display opens up some exciting possibilities for future smartphones that could offer health features typically found in smartwatches.
Samsung Display does not directly produce consumer devices, so it is up to other companies or divisions of Samsung to purchase these displays and mount them on actual products. But announcements like this are an interesting indication of the kinds of devices that could be possible in the coming years.
