The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) has won two R&D 100 Awards, known in the trade as “the Oscars of the technology industry,” for eco-friendly technologies, the institute said yesterday.
The list of this year’s winners of the R&D 100 Awards was published on Wednesday and included the institute’s rewritable electronic paper — i2R e-paper — and a new type of polarizer protective film named HyTAC. Other winners of the awards from R&D Magazine this year include Dell, 3M and Hitachi.
The rewritable e-paper can achieve 300 dots per inch resolution with memory function and does not consume electricity, the institute said. To change the content, the user simply puts the paper into a thermal writing device to remove the old image and reuse the paper in a single step, it said. The paper can be used multiple times.
Photo courtesy of the Industrial Technology Research Institute
The technology could be used to produce digital books and pictorials without restrictions on length, as well as for electronic bulletin boards, digital billboards and other innovative applications, the institute said.
The ITRI said it started its research on HyTAC in 2003. The protective film uses a unique organic and inorganic nano-material with a variety of technologies. The highly transparent optical film and low-toxic manufacturing process can also replace the TAC film used in current polarizers, which require expensive processing equipment that pushes up production costs, the institute said.
This is the fourth straight year that ITRI has won an R&D 100 Award. Its previous winners include its on-chip AC LED lighting technology, high-safety STOBA lithium battery, eco-friendly fire retardant material REDDEX, regional 2D/3D switching 3-dimensional display and multipurpose flexible electronic substrate technology and other innovative inventions.
The award ceremony this year will be held in Orlando, Florida, in October, the institute said.
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