MEMS to transform display tech

Displays are now one of the most important parts of the electronics industry because pretty much everything people use nowadays needs a user interface, writes New Electronics.

If users can't read the display in a variety of lighting conditions or it consumes too much power, then they will not be particularly taken with the product in which it is deployed. LCDs, in particular, consume significant power and suffer from poor viewability.

So a range of companies have been paying particular attention to display technology, pursuing a number of avenues of research. One of these avenues is to apply the principles of MEMS technology to the problem.

Researchers at the University of Washington (UW) have taken the term 'green power' literally by running an electric circuit from the power generated by trees, states GizMag.

While there isn't much electrical power to harness, the researchers say it should be enough to run wireless sensors that could be used to detect environmental conditions or forest fires and could also be used to gauge a tree's health.

The UW team's research follows on from a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study last year that found plants generate a voltage of up to 200 millivolts (thousands of a volt) when one electrode is placed in a plant and the other in the surrounding soil. The UW team sought to further academic research in the field by building circuits to run off that energy.

Looking to get in early on dynamic new businesses and technologies while also boosting its Asia-Pacific revenue, Cisco has invested $32 million in a South Korean tech-centric private-equity firm as part of a five-year strategy to invest $2 billion in that company's tech sector, according to InformationWeek.

A Seeking Alpha.com report on Cisco's $32 million investment in SkyLake Incuvest says SkyLake is engaged in funding technology companies through contributions in the form of private equity investments. Its recent investments include Viatron Technologies, which is focused on heat processing technologies for displays; Dasan Networks, which makes switching and fibre-to-the-home equipment; and Wemade Entertainment, which develops online games.

A look at the technologies being developed by some of SkyLake's portfolio companies reflects Cisco's desire to extend its reach beyond the traditional networking gear that has made it one of the most powerful IT companies in the world: heat-processing technologies for displays, fibre to the home, and online video games.