OLPC and Pixel Qi Cross-License Screen Technology

By Geoff Duncan Published March 31, 2010

The One Laptop Per Child project and display technology spinoff Pixel Qi have announced a display technology cross-licensing agreement that will let each organization use the other’s low-power, high-performance screen technologies…for free and forever.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

“A huge barrier to getting computers to mass use in the developing world is limited access to electricity,” said OLPC founder and chair Nicholas Negroponte, in a statement. “Pixel Qi is designing new screens for OLPC that will keep laptops going even longer between recharges and excel in long-form reading while providing color and video.”

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Mary Lou Jepson spun Pixel Qi out of the OLPC project to commercialize display technologies she developed at OLPC, and Pixel Qi’s technology development has been watched closely as the company works to bring low-power displays to market—just the sort of things that are ideal for notebook computers, netbooks, and tablet computing, as well as systems aimed at education in emerging markets. Pixel Qi displays will support full color, but will also be sunlight-readable in black-and-white. The company recently announced it will be releasing DIY screen-replacement kits for netbook computers soon. Pixel Qi is also working on screen designs for the next iteration of the OLPC’s XO notebooks.

Under the deal, OLPC will get permanent, royalty-free access to Pixel Qi’s “3qi” screen technology, including over 70 patents in process as well as all future intellectual property developed by Pixel Qi for multi-mode display. Pixel Qi gets full license to dual-mode indoor-outdoor display technology used in the OLPC XO notebook.

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