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PPDS, the brand behind Philips professional displays, has announced a new range of products at ISE 2023, including Philips Tableaux, which is claimed to be the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly digital signature range ever launched by a major manufacturer.
What caught our attention about Tableaux is the fact that it can operate completely disconnected and without using a single kilowatt of electricity, a feat that could help reduce companies’ carbon footprint and their electricity bills. It also enables new installations in places where access to electricity is a challenge.
Two panels are available, one in a traditional 25-inch 16:9 format, while the other is a more stretched 28-inch 32:9 model. PPDS claims its Android-based Tableaux range can deliver up to 60,000 colors – including blue – marking a major milestone for what is essentially a glorified e-paper technology.
Images from the two panels in what appeared to be commercial settings show content with relatively rich colors, high brightness and contrast, a far cry from the usual monochrome arrangement.
The Tableaux series will display content without being plugged in or using any power at all and PPDS have already confirmed that they will be compatible with the Wave cloud-based fleet management platform used to, for example, update the displayed content over the air and without human intervention . Please note that due to the nature of the technology, it cannot be used for interactive displaystouchscreen displays or something business monitors.
The emergence of zero-power electronics
His humble beginnings in 2007 so far, color e-paper has reached the mainstream and even found its way into supermarkets and gas stations. What Tableaux brings in terms of innovation is the ability to scale to much larger display areas and the ability to enjoy power.
PPDS is part of TPV Technology Limited, the world’s largest manufacturer of monitor and the Tableaux rollout is an intriguing new direction that we will be watching closely given the current financial pressures facing businesses – especially SMEs.
We contacted PPDS to find out more about the exact specifications of the two displays: can they be charged via a USB port (and possibly only with a portable power station or a battery charger)? What is the screen resolution? What kind of brightness/contrast ratio can they deliver? Do they use no power to display? How much power do they use to swap the displayed content? What is the capacity of the built-in battery?
Beyond that, it will be interesting to see if there are plans to capture energy (e.g. ambient heat or light?), if there are plans to even larger format displays and whether PPDS will license the technology to other electronics manufacturers who can then introduce it elsewhere (e.g. refrigerator, laptop, furniture, etc.).
According to Franck Racapé, Head of Global Commercial & Vice President EMEA at PPDS, the smaller of the two Tableaux costs around 1,000 euros in Europewhich, at current energy prices, will pay for itself in about 30 months.