March 03 2011

Two years later……who will know about this?

Tech Post #3: Future Thinking

During the eighties, the CRT television set was developed. (Technology of television, 2009) Then the flat screen technology came upon. First flat screen technology was Liquid Crystal Display technology (LCD), then plasma, then Surface-condition Electron-emitter (SED). (Technology of television, 2009) Thus begins the thin-TV era. Today, the most promising new display technology is OLED, Organic light emitting diodes. Unlike LCD, OLED does not require a backlight; therefore it could be really thin, less than 50 micrometer thin! (Organic light-emitting diode, 2009) What could possibly be next? What is the future of television set?

In 2059, television will still be known as TV, and users will still be people who love to watch television. However the way we use it will be very different. As mentioned previously, OLED display will not only be brighter, thinner, more efficient, and with better refresh rates and contrast than LCD or Plasma. They can be made flexible, and even transparent. Can you imagine a transparent TV? When it’s turned off, you can’t see it at all. Or a rollable TV display? Think about taking your 42” TV with you, outdoors. OLEDs can be produced on large sheets of plastic so there is virtually nothing to limit the screen size or resolution of a display. Advances in OLED displays will eventually allow large screen TVs a fraction of an inch; think about using that as wallpaper in your living room. OLED displays can also produced on thin, flexible sheets of plastic or metal; therefore they are able to conform to a multiple of shapes. This unique property will create more durable displays. Imagine having your television set on your contact lenses.

Another future technology for television set is 3D display. The idea is to finally be free from the 2D projections of television and make 3D projections in space. The only way we can watch 3D images now is to wear one of those 3D glasses. Imagine we can watch perfect 3D television and movies without those horrible glasses. You’re sitting in your living room and some butterflies are fluttering towards you, loads of them and perfectly clear. You could allow one to land on your hand, or catch one of the rose petals being blown towards you, except you can’t, because they’re not real. However they look life-sized and real and you’re not wearing any silly spectacles. Or maybe you’re playing a video game on your television screen and have bullets flying right at you.

We will see a stunning increase in the number of televisions per household, as small TV displays are added to clocks, coffee makers and smoke detectors. Manufacturers will even place a small OLED screen inside car airbags so that accident victims will have something to watch while they wait for help. A television display will be at the bottom of a bowl, so children will be encouraged to eat all the way to the bottom to view their favorite TV show. Indeed the future of television set looks extremely interesting.

Word count: 500

References:

Organic light-emitting diode. (2009). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 30, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLED_TV

Technology of television. (2009). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 30, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_of_television

Tech Post #2: A Historical Framework

There is controversy surrounding the invention of one of the most popular 21^st century devices: the television. The difficulty in deciding who invented the television centers on the fact that there were several discoveries or inventions all of which together added up to the making of the television. During the pre-industrial period, inventors such as Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison theorize about telephone devices that transmit image as well as sound. (Bellis, n.d.) Paul Gottlieb Nipkow of Germany developed the “Nipkow disc”, a rotating disc technology which was capable of transmitting pictures via cables, as long ago as 1884. (Hutner, n.d.) He was the first person to discover television’s scanning principle.

However it was decades later in the 1920s that the Scots inventor John Logie Baird used arrays of transparent rods for transmitting images to be delivered to and viewed on a television set. Baird transmitted the first televised pictures of moving objects in 1924, the first televised human face in 1925, and the first real-time moving object in 1926. (Hutner, n.d.) These revolutions of television all occurred during the industrial period. After inventor John Logie Baird, in 1927 it was electronics inventor Philo Farnsworth who is credited with investing the first completely electronic television. (Hutner, n.d.) Philo Farnsworth would found Farnsworth Television, Inc. in 1929 and that was the time when television was heavily produced. In terms of impact on society, there wasn’t much impact because at that time, only wealthy people can afford to purchase a television set. Even though there are limited numbers of Television set in the hands of the public, several countries began broadcasting. In 1928, the Federal Radio Commission issues the first television station license to Charles Jenkins and he broadcasted the first television commercial in 1930. (Bellis, n.d.) Soon after, many companies began their television development.

The post-industrial period did not begin until during or after World War II which was between late 1930’s -1945. (Post-industrial, 2009) World War II halted nearly all television broadcasting worldwide. The time period after World War II is considered that last and final birth of television. The explosion of sets into American marketplace occurred in 1948-1949. (Genova, 2001) Families had accumulated savings during the war years, and were eager to purchase home, cars and other luxuries denied them during the war. Television sets were soon added to the must have list. The years between 1950-1959 was an exciting time period for television. (Genova, 2001) That was the time when electronic color television and remote controls was invented. In 1950 Peter Goldmark invented a 343 lines of resolution color television system. (Bellis, n.d.) His system produced color pictures by having a red-blue-green wheel spin in front of a cathode ray tube and that was the beginning of color television system. Years after, the television’s best friend, the remote control was invented by Robert Adler. (Bellis, n.d.)

Indeed, television was not invented by a single inventor, instead many people working together and alone over the years, contributed to the evolution of television. The historical development of the television is a complex series of events, and proclaiming any one man the television set’s inventor seems inaccurate at best.

Word count: 529

References:

Bellis, M. (n.d.). The Invention of Television: Timeline. Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/Television_Time.htm

Genova, T. (2001). Television History- The First 75 Years. Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://www.tvhistory.tv/index.html

Hutner, R. (n.d.). Who invented television. Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://www.catalogs.com/info/electronics/who-invented-television.html

Post-industrial Society. (2009). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-industrial

Hello world!

Hi, my name is Peter Loi and I  am currently in the Mechatronic program.  My favourite technology would have to be automobile.  That is because cars is one of the most useful transportation which is used everyday.   Car can also give me all sort of fun.