Transparency

Though LG Display's transparent OLED technology has mostly been presented in concept form, the panels have made it out into the real world. And the company is hoping to seed more potential use cases with a bunch of new prototypes headed for CES 2022.

Scientists at Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology have produced a completely renewable version of see-through wood thanks to the addition of a fruit peel extract, which also happens to make it more translucent than previous versions.

Would transparent solar cells installed in greenhouse roofs deprive plants of vital sunlight? To find out, researchers at North Carolina State University grew lettuce under various wavelengths of light, and found that the plants did just fine.

Though transparent display panels have been available for a while now, real-world applications have been few and far between. LG Display has some ideas that could change that, and plans to show off some everyday usage examples at CES 2021.

Folks entering shopping malls, airport lounges and office buildings could soon be welcomed by colorful greetings, important messages and of course adverts as they approach the sliding doors, thanks to a partnership between LG and Assa Abloy.

Earlier in the year, LG Display showed its vision for the aircraft cabin of the future, which included transparent OLED partitions. Now the company has installed the technology in subway train windows.

China's Xiaomi has launched a new TV as part of its 10th anniversary celebration. The Mi TV Lux Transparent Edition brings sci-fi into the living room with an edge-to-edge self-luminous television that you can see through.

Three years ago, we heard how scientists from Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology had created transparent wood – it could serve as a cheaper alternative to the silica-based glass used in windows and solar cells. Now, the material is additionally able to store heat and later release it.

GMC has introduced its new Sierra HD, which will offer drivers no less than 15 different camera views to help maneuver the giant truck – and one of them will let you look right back through the trailer you're towing, allowing you to see what's behind you as if the trailer wasn't there at all.

Researchers have developed a new polymer film that’s transparent, looks and feels like glass, and conducts electricity. The material is easy to manufacture on a large scale, should be less expensive than the commonly-used, inorganic indium tin oxide, and is more conductive than other polymers.

​Solar panels are great and all, but they can be a bit of an eyesore. Researchers are finding ways to make them transparent, allowing them to hide on windows, walls or other surfaces. Now an MIT team has developed solar cells that are not only invisible but flexible, thanks to graphene electrodes.

It's an exciting time in display technologies, with flexible and transparent screens popping up regularly, albeit in the lab rather than on our devices. LG just set a new high bar though, with a huge 77-inch OLED screen that you can see through and roll up.