World’s Largest ePaper E Ink Sign Unveiled at UN HQ

E Ink Holdings, MpicoSys, a developer and supplier of customized, low power, compact solutions for secure access, signage and RFID labeling; and Pervasive Displays Inc. (PDi), a designer and manufacturer of electronic paper modules for commercial and industrial display applications, announced the unveiling of the world’s largest tiled electronic paper display sign at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The eWall was unveiled on Sept. 25 by Queen Máxima of The Netherlands and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during the General Assembly of the UN. The eWall was designed by the architects of the Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), as part of a renovation of the North Delegates Lounge – a donation from the government of The Netherlands to the United Nations.

With E Ink-based displays, the eWall provides delegates with scheduling, news and other relevant information when needed; has a design mode showing high resolution large scale images; or can fade seamlessly into an unobtrusive wall when turned off.

The eWall is an intricate combination of architectural, display and network engineering. It stands about 6 meters wide with 231 tiled 7.4″ displays arranged in a grid of 33 displays across by seven displays high. With an overall resolution of 26,400 x 3,360 pixels, the eWall is the largest E Ink-based ePaper display in the world. Yet it consumes little power to operate.

The eWall displays use E Ink’s Pearl film, with Pervasive Displays providing the TFT and display modules, and MpicoSys providing the physical construction, electronics and control software to drive the overall sign, and Internet connectivity for updating the sign.

“The cooperation with the architects of the OMA is an excellent example of what MpicoSys custom projects can result in. We see this as a start of a new generation of ePaper products for information signage,” said Peter Slikkerveer, CEO of MpicoSys.

“Pervasive Displays is proud to be part of the next revolution in power efficient digital signage. The eWall can dynamically deliver the right information at the right time without disturbing the harmony of the architecture. With zero power to display the information, it is the natural choice for green buildings,” said Scott Soong, general manager and founder of Pervasive Displays.

“The eWall is a perfect example of E Ink enabling designers to deliver information where they never thought possible before,” said Harit Doshi, head of signage business and director of business development for E Ink Holdings. “This project further demonstrates E Ink’s diversification into different markets – specifically the digital signage market – as a key focus market segment.”