Google X is toying with the idea of creating modular displays, panels that can be connected the way Legos are combined to form one gigantic screen.
Google X is Google's out-there division that brought the world driverless cars, contact lenses that can monitor blood glucose levels, Google Glass and Wi-Fi-delivering weather balloons. While the world is still working on how it feels about those projects, sparse details of a new project have slipped outside of Google X.
The motive behind the modular displays is unclear at this point. Individuals familiar with project leaked only basic details to the Wall Street Journal, but the sources said the modular panels can be joined to from different shapes as well as massive displays.
Mary Lou Jepsen is said to be heading up the modular display project, supported by engineers from Samsung and Qualcomm. Jepsen has worked on other projects that centered around the development of display technology, one of which resulted in the creation of energy-efficient screens that were bright enough to be read in direct sunlight.
Some of the benefits of the Lego-like displays include scalability and affordability. Consumers could collect the panels over time and form a large screen, rather than ponying up the finances needed for the behemoths that are currently available.
Right now, the project's biggest challenge is said to be stitching the hardware and software together, one of the sources said. Getting past that challenge, which was there all along, would bring with it displays that were free of bezels.
The bezel-free displays find homes in the markets for smartphones, tablets and laptops. The form factor would also allow the displays to better blend in with whatever environment where they were deployed.
LG has come close to a bezel-less form factor with its LG 65EC9700, though the 65-inch TV's massive screen helps to dwarf the "pencil thin" border around the display area.
While the details surrounding Google's alleged modular displays are thin, more information about another Google X project recently came to light when the search engine company filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission to access a pair of radio frequencies for testing.
The request, filed on Sept. 12, revealed that Google intends to fly solar-powered drones over Albuquerque, N.M., to test their ability to deliver Internet access to remote areas. Google purchased Titan Aerospace back in April, revealing then its intent to deliver Internet access via the unmanned air vehicles.
"Titan Aerospace and Google share a profound optimism about the potential for technology to improve the world," Google said. "It's still early days, but atmospheric satellites could help bring Internet access to millions of people, and help solve other problems, including disaster relief and environmental damage like deforestation."
