DECEMBER 7--The US Display Consortium (USDC; San Jose, CA; www.usdc.org), a public-private partnership supporting the electronic-display industry, has partnered with the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) to advance the development and manufacturing of flat-panel-display (FPD) technologies. In the wake of recent global terrorist attacks, cutting-edge information technology systems--including advanced displays and imaging systems for military and security applications--are a heightened priority for the US Department of Defense.
Said John Pellegrino, director of the ARL Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate, "Joining forces with USDC to advance electronic display technologies for US defense applications is a synergistic move. USDC offers tremendous research and development capabilities through its member companies that develop and manufacture FPD technologies. And ARL--the principal Army organization for research and exploratory development of electron device and sensor technologies for Army battlefield applications--provides a display-research facility with top-notch expertise in microelectromechanical devices, optical devices, and helmet-mounted and flat-panel-display technologies."
In addition to focusing on research and development for military applications, the USDC/ARL partnership is expected to create display-technology advancements that will eventually blend into consumer devices to fuel further industry growth. The FPD industry already represents an essential and burgeoning segment of the global electronics infrastructure. DisplaySearch (Austin, TX), a market-research firm, estimates the worldwide FPD market at $22.8 billion (US) in 2001.
