science

Planar Systems

Planar Systems is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Planar Systems rather than just read about it. In short: Planar Systems, Inc. is an American digital display manufacturing corporation with a facility in Hillsboro, Oregon. Founded in 1983 as a spin-off from Tektronix, it was the first U.S. manufacturer of electroluminescent (EL) digital displays.

Key takeaways

Planar Systems belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Planar Systems to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Planar Systems from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Planar Systems, Inc. is an American digital display manufacturing corporation with a facility in Hillsboro, Oregon. Founded in 1983 as a spin-off from Tektronix, it was the first U.S. manufacturer of electroluminescent (EL) digital displays. Planar currently makes a variety of other specialty displays, and has been an independent subsidiary of Leyard Optoelectronic Co. since 2015. The headquarters, leadership team and employees still remain in Hillsboro, Oregon.

History

1980s Planar was founded on May 23, 1983 by Jim Hurd, Chris King, John Laney and others as a spin-off from the Solid State Research and Development Group of the Beaverton, Oregon, based Tektronix. In 1986, a division spun off from Planar to work on projection technology and formed InFocus.

1990s In 1991, Planar purchased FinLux, a competitor in Espoo, Finland. This location now serves as the company's European headquarters. Planar's executives took the company public in 1993, listing the stock on the NASDAQ boards Planar acquired Tektronix's avionics display business, creating the short-lived Planar Advance in 1994. Standish Industries, a manufacturer of flat panel LCDs in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, was sold to Planar in 1997. This plant was closed in 2002 as worldwide LCD manufacturing shifted to East Asian countries.

2000s

On April 23, 2002, DOME Imaging Systems was purchased by Planar and became the company's medical business unit. Planar acquired Clarity Visual Systems (founded by former InFocus employees) on September 12, 2006, now referred to as the Control Room and Signage business unit. On June 19, 2006, Planar acquired Runco International, a leading brand in the high-end, custom home theater market. On August 6, 2008, Planar sold its medical business unit to NDS Surgical Imaging.

2010s In November 2012, Planar announced the sale of its electroluminescent business to Beneq Oy, a supplier of production and research equipment for thin film coatings. Under the terms of the transaction, consideration consists of a $6.5 million base purchase price, of which $3.9 million was paid in cash at closing and $2.6 million was paid in the form of a promissory note. Planar was purchased by Leyard Optoelectronic Co. of China in 2015 for $157 million. It became a subsidiary after formerly trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol PLNR. In November 2016, Planar announced that it was to enter a merger agreement with NaturalPoint Inc., which sells infrared point tracking systems for use on CGI movie sets (Optitrack), and home use both for assisted computing (Smartnav) and computer gaming (TrackIR). The merger was finalized in January 2017. NaturalPoint will remain a separate business with its own executive team, customers, and market initiatives.

2020s In 2020, a nearly 32-foot-long, 5-foot-high Planar TVF Series LED video wall was added to Lea County Communication Authority (LCCA)’s Lea County 911 Call Center. Planar completed the latest of three installations at the University of Oregon. The addition of Planar® CarbonLight™ CLI Flex™ pliable LED video wall displays, custom designed into two curved LED installations, at Matthew Knight Arena follows the companies deployments at the university’s Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in 2013 and Student Recreation Center in 2015. The company also expanded its presence at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina by adding an impressive collection of 126 Planar LCD displays and two Planar LED video walls in the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business. 200 Planar displays also appear in the university’s four-story Watt Family Innovation Center following an installation in 2016. On November 10, 2020, Planar expanded their US government division to enhance the company’s product security program to further adapt products and processes to best meet the product security needs of customers.

Operations Planar currently assembles and services videowalls, projectors, and other displays in Hillsboro. Planar's EL manufacturing operations were consolidated into Planar's Espoo, Finland facility in 2002. Additional large-format displays are assembled and integrated in Albi, France.

Leyard Merger On November 27, 2015, Planar closed its sale to become a subsidiary of Leyard Optoelectronic Co., a Chinese LED display product corporation. Headquarters operations for Planar remain in Beaverton, OR following the sale.

Locations In addition to its Oregon, U.S. headquarters, Planar has worldwide reach. Its sales offices are located in Europe, North America, and Asia. It has manufacturing facilities in France, North America, and Finland.

See also Silicon Forest List of companies based in Oregon

References

External links Hoover's Profile of Planar Systems International Directory of Company Histories, Volume 61 (1990) via Answers.com Planar Systems topic at New York Times

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Planar Systems

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Planar Systems claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Planar Systems before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Planar Systems ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Planar Systems

In research: Planar Systems appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Planar Systems in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Planar Systems is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1983 establishments in Oregon, 1993 initial public offerings, 2015 mergers and acquisitions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Planar Systems outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Planar Systems in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Planar Systems means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Planar Systems out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Planar Systems in simple terms?

Why does Planar Systems matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Planar Systems?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Planar Systems.