OLPC and Pixel Qi Sign Agreement on Screen Technology

Back in December, the one Laptop per Child Foundation offered a preview of what its future mobile PCs would eventually look like, with plans including even a slate-type PC with total reliance on touch input. Now, it seems that plans are steadily advancing, with the Foundation even managing to secure a royalty-free partnership with Pixel Qi, the inventor of one of the less known but more innovative and efficient color displays on the market.

End-users may recognize Pixel Qi as the developer of the highly efficient, sunlight-readable transflective display that can use incident light as a substitute for backlighting. The permanent cross-license agreement will give OLPC full access to Pixel Qi's over 70 patents, as well as all current and future IPs developed by the company for multi-mode screens. This includes the “3qi” screen technology, which OLPC intends to use in its next generation of XO laptops. In exchange, Pixel Qi will gain rights to the dual-mode (indoor and outdoor) display technology that the XO uses.

“A huge barrier to getting computers to mass use in the developing world is limited access to electricity. 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,” Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of One Laptop per Child, said. “Furthermore, we are not aware of any blanket technology license of this scale of current and future inventions by a commercial firm to a non-profit humanitarian effort and hope to set an example for other corporations to follow.”

“OLPC’s focus on the need for low-cost, low-power devices led me to invent power-efficient LCD screens that are optimized for reading. Commercial tablets, notebook computers and smart phones have precisely the same needs,” Mary Lou Jepsen, founder and CEO of Pixel Qi, stated. “This is one of the few examples in which cutting-edge computer technology first deployed for developing nations benefits the developed world as well.”