THE MAGIC OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

NANOTECH:HP and Trinity College Dublin are leading the way with research into print nano-technologies, writes KARLIN LILLINGTON

PICTURE THIS: you are perusing the breakfast cereal row in Tesco when a sudden shimmer of colour catches your eye and you notice all the boxes of Kellogg's cornflakes have just changed, advertising a new competition.

Printed with an inexpensive nanotechnology surface material, the boxes have just downloaded the new information from a WiFi connection in the store and have automatically updated their appearance. Meanwhile, over in the soft drinks aisle, every can of Coca-Cola has updated to a newly designed brand logo.

Later that evening, you pull down your roller-blind-style TV screen and the first thing you see is an ad for the cornflakes, plugging the competition. Good thing you picked up a box so you're in with a chance of winning.

These are just a few of many potential future uses of the print nanotechnology research being jointly developed by HP and Trinity College Dublin's Crann (Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices).

The research partnership is working towards technologies using new-age materials built from carbon nanotubes and nanofibres and has just received a second tranche of Science Foundation Ireland funding worth €3.7 million.

The research group, comprising around two dozen researchers at TCD and half a dozen from HP Ireland in Leixlip, is now recognised as one of the leading groups in this specialised area, says Crann director Dr John Boland.

The research association goes back three years and began when the print research group at HP Ireland went searching for a partner to explore materials for flexible electronics - electronic paper, bendable screens, ultra-thin materials that could be used in packaging, and other products.

"Here in HP Ireland, we have expertise built up in the print area and we have a section here working in the broader displays area," says Pat Harnett, research and development manager with HP Ireland. "We went looking for a partner, checked around the EU and we felt Crann had the best match. The reason we chose Crann was their expertise in nanotechnology."

Harnett says HP wanted materials that would provide transparency, flexibility, conductivity and strength for creating the specialised displays.

The new materials being explored at Crann would produce displays that could be produced using processes similar to the printing press rather than requiring traditional fabrication plants. Such materials would also supersede printing with inks. A newspaper, for example, could be downloaded directly to a piece of flexible electronic paper, and thin smart packaging surfaces would serve as internet-connected displays too.

Boland says the group at TCD is now internationally recognised as leaders in the area.

The group works with carbon nanotubes, which are "very strong and very flexible. They are also able to conduct electricity very well," says Boland. Nanowires and polymers also combine to create these new materials, which Boland says can be best described as "a technology platform".

The technologies are bound to have a tremendous impact, he says, "so it is critical to get the core materials in place".

While initial applications are likely to be large area displays - easily changed signage in shops, for example - "the marketing opportunities are enormous. The materials could be used for, say, branding a can of Coke: the material could download new information directly to the can itself.

"Or you might have electronic wallpaper - you might decide to alter a wall to give you an ocean scene and could just download the new image to be displayed on your wall." Utilising such materials for individual products implies a low cost and Boland confirms this: "The goal is that this should be really cheap."

While that smart can of Coke isn't going to appear in Tesco anytime soon, Boland says the first commercial fruits of their research aren't too far off. "I would say, conservatively, in the next three to four years you'll probably see the first products emerge."

The goal right now is to improve the quality of the displays and move from black and white to full colour. Then, it may only be a matter of time until Clerys is full of roll-up television sets and Amazon is selling Kindle electronic paper.