Seiko Watch Corporation has announced the launch of the world’s first Electrophoretic Display (EPD or electronic ink) watch. Available world-wide from December this year, this is a watch the company says will never need a battery replacement and is recharged courtesy of solar power.
The watch boasts a high-resolution screen of 300 dpi and offers incredible accuracy. The watch receives radio wave signals whenever in range of transmitters that help maintain accuracy to one second in every 30 million years. Accuracy when not in the range of a radio signal is 15 seconds per month.
Powered by a self-recharging solar battery, once charged, the new EPD watch can operate for up to nine months without further exposure to light. The watch also offers a sleep mode during which it can remember the time and receive radio signals for over three years. If in sleep mode, once a button is pressed or the solar cells are exposed to light, the watch reawakens and the display operates normally.
Much of the power saving magic is due to the Electrophoretic Display, which uses electronic ink technology. Electronic ink uses thousands of tiny microcapsules that are around the diameter of a human hair. Each capsule incorporates negatively charged white particles and positively charged black particles. When a negative electric field is applied, the white particles move to the top of the microcapsule where they become visible to the user and form the basis of the readout. Seiko’s Active Matrix EPD watch offers a four-shade grey scale readout.
