In December 2000, researchers at PARC (Palo Alto Research Center), the
Xerox center in Silicon Valley, California, founded the company Gyricon
Media to market the SmartPaper, an electronic paper based on the
display technology called gyricon - developed since 1997 within Xerox.
Very briefly explained, the technology was the following one: in
between two sheets of flexible plastic, millions of micro-cells contain
two-tone (for example black and white) beads suspended in a clear
liquid. Each bead has an electric charge. An external electrical pulse
makes the balls rotate and change color, to display, modify, or delete
data. In 2004, the market was commercial advertising, with small
posters running on batteries. The company ended its activities in 2005,
with R&D activities going on at Xerox.