At this year’s K-Display in Seoul, LG Display presented a prototype that extends the previous possibilities of micro LED technology in a new direction: a stretchable micro LED display that not only displays content, but can also be transformed into a tactile control panel. Buttons and buttons physically emerge from the display surface and can be felt like real buttons – combined with a touch function for control. In future, this development could enable new forms of interaction not only in vehicles, but also in areas such as accessibility or gaming.
- Up to 53% stretchable without losing image quality
- Physically tactile buttons that also function as touch surfaces
- Potential for use in vehicles and accessible devices
- Early research phase, high production costs still a challenge
A new dimension of display interaction
The concept shown is based on self-illuminating micro-LED pixels that work independently of backlighting and therefore enable particularly high-contrast, true-color displays. LG combines this technology with a mechanical stretchability of up to 53% so that parts of the display can be raised in a targeted manner. This was demonstrated at the trade fair using a control panel with buttons protruding from the surface.
The combination of tactile controls and touch function opens up completely new application scenarios. In the vehicle, drivers could operate the air conditioning or navigation system without taking their eyes off the road – similar to classic buttons, but dynamically adaptable. Equally conceivable is the use in machine control systems, where the operating elements change depending on the working mode. This technology could make it easier for people with visual impairments to access complex devices, as input does not have to be exclusively visual.
The design is interesting: the trade fair model was curved upwards, which suggests that the entire display is not flexible, but only certain segments are stretched. This would facilitate integration into fixed housings and still enable a variable surface.
State of the art and hurdles on the way to market maturity
Although the demonstration looks impressive, this technology is still at an early stage of research. LG has not provided any technical details on the mechanics or durability of the stretchable segments. In addition to the challenge of making stretchability reliable in the long term, the problem of high production costs for micro LED displays remains – especially for larger formats.
While affordable micro LED solutions already exist for compact applications such as VR glasses (often in the form of several single-color displays combined using a prism), the production of large, high-resolution panels is still cost-intensive. However, both LG and Samsung are working intensively on processes to simplify mass production and thus make it cheaper.
If these hurdles can be overcome, the combination of tactile operation, high image quality and flexible design could fundamentally change the market for user interfaces. Especially in environments where operation without eye contact is important – from cockpits to operating theaters – this technology would have enormous potential.
Conclusion
LG’s stretchable micro-LED display with tactile controls shows how displays could not only display but also react interactively “in 3D” in the future. Even if it is likely to be years before it is ready for the market, the concept is particularly exciting for applications with high safety or comfort requirements. Prices and a timetable for possible series production are not yet known – but the trade fair presentation makes it clear that the next generation of displays will not only be more flexible, but also more tactile.
