Eyeing use in car dashboards and consoles, Sharp has developed an LCD panel that can be cut to almost any shape.

Conventional LCD panels are rectangular — something that’s required because the tiny chips that drive each pixel of the display are fitted along the edge of the glass panel on which the screen is made. In Sharp’s new screens, the chips are embedded between the pixels, which offers more freedom in screen shape.

There’s still a requirement for a single straight edge but the rest of the screen can be cut with, say, curved sides so the display completely fills the dashboard area in front of the driver.

Sharp is showing several prototype displays at this week’s Ceatec expo in Japan. One, intended for use in the central instrument console, has cutouts for buttons while another has a wavy top that curves around three on-screen dials.

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