Touchscreen Wristband to Launch Next Year

We’ve seen a number of wearable electronic devices released over the past few years, some of which include the Apple Watch, Fitbit, Pebble, Moto 360, Google Glass, and Hololens. While some of these devices experienced moderate success, they ultimately failed to capture the mainstream market. However, an innovative new wearable device may reshape this industry, offering full touchscreen capabilities in the form of a wearable wristwatch.

Developed by the Chicago-based electronics manufacturers Polyera, the Wove Band (see image to the right) is being called the world’s first flexible touchscreen display. That’s a pretty bold statement to say the least, especially when you consider just how many other companies have attempted to produce similar wearable devices. So, what makes the Wove Band stand out from the competition?

The company claims the new flexible touchscreen device will use a special type of electronic ink display that’s capable of functioning either flat, such as a traditional tablet or smartphone, or curved, such as a wearable wristwatch. Most modern-day touchscreen devices contain ink that’s only functional when flat, meaning it won’t work if the device is twisted into the shape of a wristband or any other non-flat surface.

As noted on the official Wove Band website, many companies have attempted to produce similar flexible touchscreen displays using silicone and plastic substrates but have ultimately failed in the end. Polyvera, however, has taken a different approach with the Wove Band, opting to use special proprietary materials that are flexible and robust.

“Most attempts to make flexible displays have relied on depositing traditional electronic materials, such as silicon, on plastic substrates,” said the company on its official website. “This approach allows the creation of products with displays in a fixed curve, but the brittleness of these electronics layers makes them unsuitable for products which are dynamically flexible. Polyera’s proprietary materials, by contrast, are flexible and robust, enabling the creation of products with true, dynamically flexible displays.”

So, when can you expect to see the Wove Band for sale? Polyvera has said that it plans to release a prototype to developers by the end of the year, and assuming all goes well, it will launch the device to the public by the second quarter of 2016. There’s still no word yet on how much the Wove Band will cost.

Would you be interested in using a touchscreen wristband?