MWC 2016: Flexible wearables now a reality with unveiling of wraparound LCD bracelet

FlexEnable, a UK-based company, showcased its flexible electronics technology at the MWC on 22 February. The consumer tech firm displayed an LCD bracelet and flexible fingerprint sensors, which can be wrapped around door handles to provide users with customised and personalised security access.

FlexEnable said, "Our unique technology allows electronics to be manufactured on flexible plastic film, the thickness of a sheet of paper. It combines stable, high performance organic thin-film transistors (OTFT) with passive elements to create truly flexible and cost-effective electronics over large and small surfaces."

FlexEnable's prototype flexible LCD screen makes use of plastic transistors to create organic liquid crystal display (OLCD) screens. The plastic transistors afford developers the ability to bend the device. Although these screens do not currently have touchscreen function abilities, they can be operated by tapping on function buttons placed on the sides of the device, to scroll through the icons displayed on the screen.

FlexEnable does not plan to create a standalone new product, instead the consumer tech firm plans to collaborate with other electronic goods manufacturers to deliver the technology to the market, according to the company's representative Paul Cain, the Verge reported.

Flexible technology is not limited to wearable devices. It can also be incorporated in creative smartphone designs, screen displays on automobiles or perhaps even personalised security technology devices. With leading tech giants like Samsung and LG already offering users curved smartphones, flexible technology may just be the next big thing in consumer technology.