Exploiting the Slowness of Electrochromic Displays

This paper explores the slow behaviors of electrochromic displays. Electrochromic displays have several qualities that make them an attractive material for wearable design; they are run at a low power, require power only at transition, demonstrate slow and natural chromic change, and are entirely passive. They are increasingly explored for their applications in wearables, however, mostly focused on the binary switching function between visible and invisible states. We envision that their slow and natural chromic properties can be exploited further in slow wearable displays. To that end, this paper investigates strategies for designing with the slowness of electrochromic displays, and interconnect design techniques to achieve granular control over the display behaviors. Our exploration with electrochromic materials discusses how they could expand the design space of wearable displays as well as further areas of research in electrochromic displays.