Watching Movies on Car Window
It will not be long before the passengers of autonomous vehicles will be able to watch TV or movies on the car window during long rides.
According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office, patent applications related to "transparent display," which shows information on transparent glass, have soared recently.
A transparent display is a next-generation display that stays clear, like glass, when not in use, and functions as a display when necessary, showing information on a smart window. Its market potential is considered endless.
Domestic patent applications for transparent display totaled 280 in the last 10 years (2008 to 2017), showing an average annual growth rate of 43.4%.
Applications for the past three years (2015-2017) have increased 2.3 times (72 to 162) compared to the previous three years (2012-2014).
The development of the transparent display had been a national research and development project for five years from 2012 to 2017, and companies has invested in research and development on transparent display in order to create opportunities to expand new markets.
LG Display topped the list of major patent applicants with 147 cases (52.5%), followed by Samsung Display with 48 cases (17.1%), Samsung Electronics with 21 cases (7.5%), and Universal Display with 8 cases (2.9%).
Domestic conglomerates accounted for 80.4% of total applications in recent 10 years.
Kim Jong-chan, director of the Display Device Inspection Team at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, "Transparent display is a technology with a wide range of applications in various fields, and it is expected to contribute to developing relevant industries and creating jobs in the future."