The wafer thin, flexible, lightweight and endless scalable LED screen for dynamic ambient lighting and outdoor video walls

Project Information

Digital Wallpaper

Grant agreement ID: 879805

DOI

10.3030/879805

Project closed

EC signature date 2 October 2019

Start date 1 November 2019

End date 30 June 2022

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 3 143 448,00

EU contribution

€ 2 200 413,60

Coordinated by

LIGHTNTEC GMBH
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - Digital Wallpaper (The wafer thin, flexible, lightweight and endless scalable LED screen for dynamic ambient lighting and outdoor video walls)

Reporting period: 2021-11-01 to 2022-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

There is a huge demand for dynamic, digital displays and lighting solutions of surfaces, indoor and outdoor. Façades, towers, walls, floors, ceilings, columns not only in/on buildings as well as any other space are to be equipped and dynamized with pixel-controlled light. Today state-of-the-art solutions are either limited to single colour lighting with no individual control per LED pixels, or they are expensive, heavy, limited in size, shape, curvature and hence difficult to install.
LightnTec is solution provider to create immersive spaces based on motion pattern: Automated guiding, entertaining, connecting and informing people.
Our animated, digital, skin like surfaces are wafer thin, ultralight, flexible, cuttable and bright. Our innovative high- tech material ledTec.flex are manufactured in Germany (Karlsruhe) and can be used indoor as well as outdoor. Or product family ledTec.flex is like a flexible display on foil substrate and can be controlled by video data such as movies and pictures. With motionTec.sens (sensors, cameras, cloud controlled) we are counting and tracking people in 3D-spaces incl. detection of age and gender. With these data (incl. path analysis, dwell time, purchase power, gender and age) we control (also existing) Digital-Signage as well as the ledTec.flex product family with videos. For connecting, guiding, entertaining and informing people for a unique customer journey. Automated. Personalised. Real-time. „We convert virtual to reality!”

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

A customer and partner survey was conducted to update and evaluate the product market fit of our products with the result that our pixel-controlled light and video foils are very popular and market proof is given because of given USPs: lightweight, ultrathin, flexible, bendable and cutable. High flexibility, high pixel pitch, high lumen output and cost-efficiency were identified as further important requirements, especially with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on several targeted market segments. In the project, the commercialisation and dissemination strategies were adopted to the survey findings and the strategy. Also, the strategy become much more mature. We now focus on providing a solution to our customers and present real use cases for applications.
To mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and with most exhibitions, conferences and events cancelled, we intensified our communication via website, social media, video content and other online channels. In some cases, exhibitions and conferences were held online, which allowed participation. Distribution partnerships were established, and we won several reference customers. Furthermore, several reference projects were realised with customers and partners including Deutsche Telekom (digitised corporate logo on the Telekom headquarter), Deutsche Bahn (20m² ledTec.flex banner), engo (ice hockey dasher boards with ledTec.flex) Frieder Burda Museum (25m² ledTec.flex banner on a historic protected facade) and Dräger (medical ceilings).
On the technical side, we further developed the Digital Wallpaper technology to provide the solution ledTec.flex incl. motionTec.sens to create a unique user experience by AI-controlled media based on people and their behaviour within dynamic spaces in realtime.
We adapted the architecture of ledTec.flex to allow more flexibility in realising application-specific solutions with higher pixel pitch, higher lumen outputs and to reduce production costs. For the new basic and advanced ledTec.flex products, lifetime tests, HALT tests and product optimisation were performed. In parallel process optimisations were done to industrialise the production process and prepare the scale-up.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

LightnTec’s high-tech material ledTec.flex is wafer thin, ultralight, flexible, cuttable and bright. The electronics are integrated into foil with a patented, printed cable tree. This matrix and the LED controller unit provide individual and redundant control of every LED pixel. The redundant copper conductor matrix is designed to allow the foil to be cut to any size and shape. At the same time, the ribbons can be connected to a screen of unlimited size. The light, thin and flexible form allows simple and fast installation with Velcro tape or a self-adhesive coating for indoor and outdoor applications. No substructure is necessary, ledTec.flex can be added to existing structures without reconstruction measures due to static strength.
Many different applications are addressed by ledTec.flex. One example is the use for fairs, events and promotions, as well as outdoor applications as digital signage or large LED wall. With the quick mounting, easy installation and with not substructure necessary, it can be used temporarily or in a rental model. Further examples are the dynamically illuminating homogeneously luminous surfaces inside commercial vehicles or immersive spaces by integration into walls or ceilings. A diffuser foil or micro-optical structures can be used to achieve a uniform lit surface from a short distance and to provide a qualitative, digital dynamic screen with “liquid light” for ambient lighting and Human Centric Lighting (HCL) to benefit the biological, emotional, health, or wellbeing of people. Our ledTec.flex technology is the perfect solution to implement HCL effective and cost-efficient in clinics and other environments to improve health and comfort of the society, as well as productivity and performance of employees, workers and students.
We contribute to strengthen the economic location Europe. Our production facilities will stay in Europe, as the production process is automated and cost-efficient. Europe will therefore benefit from created jobs and revenue kept within the EU. To use ledTec.flex instead of conventional displays will drastically reduce the material and energy demand for general lighting, video walls and digital signage.

#ImmersiveSpaces #Connecting2People #Easy2Scale