The 10th IMID 2010 will show next-generation convergence technologies including 3D displays, broadcasting & communications, LED, PDP, OLED, flexible displays and e-paper
The three events --the 10th IMID 2010, the IDMC (International Display Manufacturing Conference) and the ASIA DISPLAY-- are scheduled to be held altogether on October 11th through 15th at KINTEX (Korea International Exhibition Center), Korea.
Presentations will revolve around ever-evolving products like LED, PDP and OLED products and premium markets' favorites -- such as flexible displays electronic paper and 3D displays. Development of next-generation technologies -- especially, OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode Displays), electronic paper and 3D displays - has been pursued by the R&D sector, so a larger number of papers on the three will be presented.
In the first installment of a series of reports about IMID 2010, Korea IT Times interviewed the Chairman of the Korea Information Display Society (KIDS) to learn about the record of R&D activities in the display industry and the industry's roadmap for developing future technologies.
Q) At the 10th IMID 2010, what will be introduced and how the event is being prepared
A) Lee Sin-Doo, Executive Committee Chair of IMID/IDMC/ASIA DISPLAY 2010 and Professor of Seoul National University, answered, "The 10th IMID 2010 will introduce research on next-generation technologies such as 3D displays, convergence of broadcasting & communications technologies, LED, PDP, OLED products, flexible displays and electronic paper.
First of all, let's take a look at the previous keynote speeches. By simply running down the titles of the previous keynote speeches, we can have a good understanding of how the Korean display industry has advanced so far. Paik Woo Hyun, LG Electronics' chief technology officer, delivered a keynote speech titled "Information Display Devices"in 2001, followed by chief of Samsung Electronics LCD division Lee Sang Wan's "The Evolution and Outlook of FPD Industry" in 2002. Then CEO of the LG Philips LCD Division Park Ki Sun's " The Era of TFT-LCD"in 2003, CEO of Samsung SDI Kim Sun-Taek "The New Race for the Ultimate Display" in 2006, LG Display CEO Kwon Young Soo's "Challenges for the Future LCD Display" in 2008 and CEO of the Samsung Electronics LCD Division Jang Won-Kie's "FPD Industry, Challenge for Value Creation" in 2009.
This year's lineup includes " 3DTV, the 3rd Revolution" by the CEO of Samsung Electronics Yoon Boo-Keun, " The Role and Function of Displays in the Future Broadcasting & Communications Convergence industry" by Hyung Taegun, a permanent member of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) and " Next-generation and Ultimate 3D Display" by Tokyo University Professor Yasuhiro Takaki.
The IMID 2010 will be prepared by the following three committees -- the Organizing Committee, the Program Committee and the Execution Committee. Hanyang University Professor Kwon Oh-kyong and Seoul National University Professor Whang Ki-Woong jointly assume the post of Chairman of the Organizing Committee. And the Execution Committee is led by Seoul National University Professor Lee Sin-Doo leads and the Program Committee by Busan National University Yoon Tae-Hoon.
The 10th IMID 2010's theme is how to entrench Korea's No. 1 position in the global display market. Korea has emerged as a global display powerhouse with the transition from LCD notebook screens to desktop computer monitors and to flat-screen, wall-mounted TVs and OLED. However, in terms of 3D LED TV and smartphones, China, Taiwan and Japan have achieved a quantum leap, trailing closely behind Korea.
Korea's dependence on raw material imports is over 80 percent, so intensive and long-term R&D on original technologies should be pursued to secure the top spot.
Q) We've heard that the IMID 2010's award ceremony is sponsored by Samsung Electronics and LG Display.
A) Yes, that' correct. First of all, the IMID 2010's LG Display Award is hosted by LG Display to award R&D talent in the display sector. The LG Display sponsored Display Award consists of three awards, tentatively named the LG Display Young Scholar Award, LG Display Upcoming Researcher Award and LG Display Woman Researcher Award.
Samsung Electronics also mentioned that long-term, intensive efforts should be made to obtain original technologies and nurture talent and promise to lend a helping to fostering talent in private companies. Although detailed plans have yet to be unveiled, the discovery of up and coming researchers in the display sector will be the goal of newly created awards, which will be different from the previous MKE (the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy)-sponsored awards for product development and the Merck Award. Starting from this year, the two companies-- Samsung Electronics and LG Display- will continue to sponsor the IMID Award Ceremony.
Q) Judging from the number of papers released, where do you think Korea stands at the moment
A) The number of papers released has decreased in the past three years in Korea. This is because Korea is ahead of others nations in the pure technology sector or because of the PDP industry's downward trend. Noteworthy is the number of US papers have halved. This means the number of R&D institutes is not big enough to serve the vast US market, and Korea is a step ahead in the field of source technology. However, at the same time, the strong performance of China, Taiwan and Japan should be held in check. Growth in the number of papers in these nations indicates that they are formidable rivals in the making in the global display industry.
Q) Could you tell us about recent trends in the global display industry
A) 3D touch pads and OLED are undeniably the hottest issues. In particular, the most attention is paid when OLED would make its market debut as a home appliance, but no set date has been made. Still, OLED has been losing the battle against LED in terms of resolution. That's why while the Galaxy S uses OLED, the iPhone comes with LCD called IPS mode produced by LG Display. In addition, it will take some time before OLED is applied to TV screens. Another trend is PDP, its market share has been decreasing, but this year thanks to the booming 3D industry, PDP came back.
Q) We've also heard that excellent papers presented in the previous IMID will be introduced this year.
A) Yes, that's right. We and publisher Tailor & Francis will jointly publish good IMID papers so as to introduce them to foreign scholars. Of course, the IMID holds the copyright for the book. The collection of those papers will serve as a great R&D reference because it will compile numerous papers-- ranging from LG Display's Information Display Devices to TFT-LCD, Flexible Display and LED and further to the IMID 2010's 3D TV and 3D Display.
Q) What can be the next-generation cutting-edge technologies that would take over 3D displays.
A) Kwon Oh-Kyong, Organizing Committee Chair of IMID/IDMC/ASIA Display 2010 and Distinguished Professor of Hanyang University): As a matter of fact, no products have been produced that are more advanced than 3D displays. In other words, a unified R&D roadmap has yet to be thrashed out. Specifically speaking, in terms of panels, PDP is more suitable for 3D displays than LCD. And OLED's optimization for 3D displays is being utilized to achieve market commercialization. Overall, how the three display would evolve piques our interest.
On top of that, more research will be conducted in areas related to human interfaces. Mobile phones' touch screens, video game motion sensors and remote controls are also used in other fields to achieve industrial convergence.
Microsoft is working on Surface Display technology that turns any white wall into a display, while Google and Apple are also developing similar technologies and necklace-like mobile phones. What's more, the HMD (Head Mounted Display) technology that used to be used for military purposes is being introduced to the public through games.
As a result, R&D activity is underway to develop next-generation, state-of-the-art technologies in various sectors in line with industrial demands for new concepts that go beyond market staples like mobile phone, laptops, PCs and TV. Thus, people are expecting that a new form of markets like public displays will emerge.
A) Lee Sin-Doo: From a different perspective, we need to think about what kinds of products will come to our society in what way. In other words, there are two ways, one is upgrading existing products and the other is developing completely new products.
The market for upgrading existing products has continued to see technological developments, but in terms of market demand, the market has been oversaturated. Take flexible displays for example. Although they are emerging as an alternative to the creation of new markets, unless a new market for flexible displays is created, the need for flexible displays will remain lackluster in the current display market that is armed with most of the elements users need.
3D glasses, for instance, have evolved greatly, and are divided into active glasses and passive ones. As of now, active glasses are mainly developed on the grounds that they are less fatigue-inducing. However, long hours of wearing active glasses do result in fatigue. Therefore, technological development will be pursued towards goggleless 3D. Here comes a completely new technological development. This is because 3D without glasses should be preceded by 3D controls in hardware and 3D production of fundamental contents. In conclusion, to create new markets rather than simply maintaining existing markets, both academia and industry should make efforts. I believe that creation of new markets is our responsibility for the survival of future technologies.
Q) China and Taiwan are chasing closely after Korea. What kind of strategy should Korea have to follow through with to secure its No.1 position in the global display market
A) Kwon Oh-Kyong: The display industry, a parts industry, is heavily influenced by upstream and downstream industries. Thus, building networks with its upstream and downstream industries is all-important. In short, in the case of LCD panels, both growth of downstream industries (such as LCD TV, monitors, laptop computers and multi-media products) and upstream industries' speedy supply of parts like glass substrates, color filters and backlight units have a significant bearing on the competitiveness of LCD panels. In addition, although downstream industries have succeeded in localization of parts and material they use, we still imports most of our raw material needs from abroad.
Therefore, first of all, Korea has to push ahead with large-scale LCD panel production in China and swiftly respond to rivaling companies' move to invest in large panels in China. Second, at the moment, LCD panels are being commoditized, so continued efforts for technological innovations should be made in line with industrial trends in technological advances. In other words, mid- and long-term, preemptive investment in R&D for next-generation products should be made.
Third, compared to other high-tech industries, the display industry requires a wide range of parts and raw materials. Thus, the localization of key parts and materials and obtaining original technologies are more important than anything else. To that end, upstream and downstream industries should be seamlessly interlinked in an efficient manner.
In the Korean display industry, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have stratified global set makers as their affiliates who produce home appliances. Therefore, Korea has advantages in terms of industrial connectivity compared with China and Taiwan. Yet China as a communist nation boasts the strongest centralization and the largest market. Also, China and Taiwan are interconnected economically, as evidenced by the term "Chiwan (China + Taiwan)". Against this backdrop, looking 10 years down the road, the Korean government should support R&D on original technologies and private companies should continue to focus on obtaining original technologies.
Q) The Korean government announced that localization of raw materials has made headway. What is academia's take on this
A) Lee Sin-Doo: When the Korean government measured the extent of localization, it counted how many Korean products were used on industrial sites. However, this simple way of measuring the degree of localization is wrong, because the core technologies for raw materials are not developed by Korean companies. We just purchase technologies through MoUs and technological transfer deals and simply assemble downstream materials. In short, Koreas' accumulation of core technologies is very disappointing contrary to the government's announcement.
Looking 10 years down the road, academia and industry try to push for many R&D projects in order to develop core technologies. However, the Korean government's support for such endeavors leaves much to be desired. For example, the Ministry of Science and Technology was dissolved to create the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, which made government R&D support ambiguous. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology shows more interest in new industries than in the display industry. In addition, the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy (MKE) is more interested in technological commercialization than the development of original technologies.
Samsung Electronics' AMOLED has taken up as much as 98 percent of the global market. Localization of AMOLED is underway in the right direction. Besides, LG Display is also keen on moving the MOLED business forward. The Korean government should take advantage of the two global leaders' synergetic effects and launch national projects that encourage other parts, equipment and materials suppliers to secure original technologies.
