Color-forming reflective displays like E Ink are easy on the eye even in bright environments. Applying photochromic materials (PM) and projected-light systems to this type of display makes it possible to control color without contact with the display surface. In this project, the concept of “contactless color control,” is extended to volumetric space to create “volumetric color-forming pixels”. The result is “photochromic sculpture”, which can generate a dynamically changeable 3D object.
The system consists of two components:
• A presentation component composed of laminated transparent plates coated with PM granules and Spiropyran, which produces color under ultraviolet light (UV) and gradually becomes colorless and transparent when the UV light is blocked
• A control component for manipulating projected light.
The project team is developing a projector that can provide a more complicated UV pattern and investigating how to create larger-scale photochromic sculptures in outdoor locations.
Tomoko Hashida
