You may not have thought of this, but Philips has: furry displays, or TVs made of little hairs. Really? Yep, Philips has figured out a way to create a display that consists of a grid of short, fine hairs. When a charge is applied to a hair, it stands up straight, revealing the color of the fabric below. Without a charge, the hair lies flat, showing its color. Combinations of these two states result in the ability to treat each differently colored hair as a pixel, giving you the hairy equivalent of a video display.

Imagine a T-shirt, a coat or a curtain made of these little electronically controlled bristles. Hey, this could lead to toupees on which advertising space could be sold. Sounds like the ideal second income for those of us who are follicularly challenged. – Charlie White

Furry-vision [NewScientist]

Tags: concepts | displays | patents | philips