Roll-out flat-screen TV on the way

LONDON, UK: Scientists are creating flat screen TVs that can be rolled up and safely tucked away in your pockets, thanks to QD or quantum dot technology.

Developed by a team of British scientists, QD can be used to make ultra-thin TVs. Samsung is already working on bendable OLED screens but QD screens will be thinner and more flexible.

The flexible screens are expected to hit the markets by the next year end. Sony, Sharp, Samsung and LG are believed to be working on QD technology, the Daily Mail reports.

The technology, based on light emitting particles 100,000 times thinner than a human hair, will be imprinted on flexible plastic that can be rolled up or even printed onto large paper sheets to create giant screens.

Scientists at Nanoco, Manchester, are now working with major Asian electronic companies and the first televisions using the new technology are expected to hit the shelves by the end of next year.

The chief executive of Nanoco, a company set up Manchester University scientists, said: "The real advantage provided by quantum dots, however, is that they can be printed on to a plastic sheet that can be rolled up."