Google X is developing technology that would integrate multiple screens to connect with each other seamlessly and form a giant TV-like display with variable sizes and shapes, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The project, which is being kept under wraps but was reported by the Wall Street Journal, is being led by Mary Lou Jepsen, a former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Jepsen was the former leader and co-founder of The One Laptop Per Child project that looked to develop a cheap laptop computer that could be widely distributed in developing countries. The project, however, failed to meet the high expectations that surrounded it right from the start.
Information from WSJ suggest that the giant displays are created by plugging together smaller displays the way Lego bricks connect. With the formed image reported to be seamless, Google X could be developing the screens without any surrounding bezel, extending the screen right to the edges of the devices. This would allow the screens to be joined together not just in squares and rectangles, but also in whatever shape that the user could think of.
Technology that would allow users to combine smaller screens to form larger ones would prove to be a huge disruption in the TV market, where the prices of the units dramatically increase with every inch added to the device's size. To illustrate, a 32-inch screen can be bought for less than $1,000, while a 110-inch screen, which is the largest screen that has ever been manufactured, requires a custom order and costs over $100,000.
The project is the latest information coming out of the Google X lab, which is the experimental arm of the company.
In August, Google acquired Gecko Design, which is a product design and mechanical engineering company. Gecko Design will be working with Google X to design its products as the lab moves further into hardware development, which would include this modular display technology.
One of the most prominent projects of Google X is Project Loon, which aims to provide wireless Internet access to billions of people in remote areas all over the world through a fleet of balloons.
Google X has worked with local cellular service providers in the past and has been testing balloon-connected wireless Internet for more than a year. The project is expected to launch within a year.
