Back in January, LG Display showcased a number of potential applications for its transparent and curved OLED screen technology at CES 2021. With the latest edition of the world's largest consumer tech expo just around the corner, the company has now revealed its latest batch of OLED concepts – an immersive stationary bike and a laid-back chair for movie nights.
For those, like me, who spend much of their waking hours sat in a chair tapping at a keyboard, staying fit and healthy can be challenging. Indoor exercise bikes are a great way to get the heart (and legs) pumping, though cycling miles without going anywhere can be somewhat boring.
Onscreen coaching or gaming incentives may well provide the necessary motivation, but a single display panel out front might not be immersive enough to keep you engaged. That's where the Virtual Ride concept from LG Display could help, as it leverages flexible OLED panel technology to wrap stationary riders in the action.
The platform combines three 55-inch curved OLED display panels in a r-shaped frame that not only puts bright, color-rich images of rolling lush countryside or picturesque village routes in front of a cyclist seated on an eye-catching Ciclotte exercise bike, but also floats blue skies and fluffy clouds above for a more convincing outside-while-inside feel.
The company reports that the panels used for this concept have the highest curvature radius among today's large displays – at 500-mm (19.6-in) – while also boasting that the "OLED displays provide unparalleled lifelike colors with their vivid picture quality to make you really feel like you are cycling outside in a forest or down the street of a European village."
And it certainly looks like it could make for the most engaging ride short of donning a VR headset or getting out in the real world.
At the end of your workout, you may just feel like collapsing into a comfy chair and watching some TV while you catch your breath. LG Display has you covered there too, with its Media Chair concept.
Mounted in a roughly u-shaped frame is a padded recliner with a 55-inch OLED display opposite. That display panel has the same curvature radius as those used for the Virtual Ride concept and rocks built-in audio tech that allows the screen itself to act as a speaker.
The chair's armrest is home to some controls that allow the user to switch the standard landscape view to a Tik-Tok-friendly portrait orientation.
We also feel that it would be pretty cool if that funky frame could adjust the seating position from a gentle recline to something a little more laid back at the touch of a button, but that's maybe asking for too much of this concept.
And this is a solo viewing experience only too, so family movie nights will still need to take place in front of the big-screen TV or substitute in the living room.
For the moment, both of these concepts are merely product design studies with no indication of a potential consumer release. They will both be showcased at CES 2022 in January, along with other OLED and LCD technologies from LG Display.
Source: LG Display