At the Ceatec trade fair in Tokyo, which begins on Tuesday, Sharp is presenting the first AO-sized outdoor e-poster. The IP65-protected all-in-one solution based on four Sharp EPDs can be operated completely autonomously integrated with a 5G modem, LED lighting and solar cells. With an area of just under one square meter, E-Posters can be installed without approval in Germany.
In the run-up to the Japanese IT trade fair Ceatec, which takes place next week in Tokyo, Sharp was awarded the Ceatec Award for the E-Ink-based e-poster. The outdoor-display in DIN A0 format can be operated completely independently of any wired infrastructure.
Four outdoor-capable e-paper displays have been integrated into an IP65-protected housing. Equipped with a solar panel and battery, the Sharp E-Poster autonomously supplies the power needed for content updates and illumination in the evening. This is an enormous advantage for out-of-home providers and the public sector, as the costs of connection work are often disproportionate to investments and potential DooH revenues.
The e-poster – which is initially developed for the Japanese market – uses LTE-M technology and thus enables communication with low power consumption. The e-paper should also function reliably in the event of a disaster, as the modem uses mobile radio frequencies that are prioritized for operation in emergency situations.
Turning four into one
Sharp uses four E-Ink-based EPDs for the E-Poster, which, thanks to Eizo technology, feature a very thin bezel. E-Ink is already planning for future EPD generations with virtually frameless e-paper displays. For this purpose, new production facilities are being built in China, which are due to start operations in spring 2025.
From a German perspective, DIN A0 posters have the invaluable advantage that the display area of 84.1 by 118.9 centimeters corresponds to exactly 0.999949 square meters. DooH screens under 1 square meter, which corresponds to 16 sheets of DIN A4 format, are generally not subject to approval in Germany.
While the established DooH industry is still struggling with a display technology that doesn’t support video and is lacking the full color range – EPDs are starting to complement LCD and LED in public spaces. The extremely low power consumption speaks for itself, but larger formats are still lacking. And the price point is currently still too high.
