MIT’s Color-Changing Ink Lets You Jazz Up Your Art, Clothes, Car Every Day
Video screenshot via MIT CSAIL HCI Engineering Group
If you’ve ever purchased two articles of the same clothing because you couldn’t decide on a color, here’s a game-changer: color-changing ink.
The technology comes courtesy of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which has developed a “reprogrammable ink” that lets you change the color of objects whenever you wish by exposing them to light of various wavelengths.
The ink, called PhotoChromeleon, is reversible, and each personalization process can take 15 to 40 minutes depending on the object’s size. The researchers demonstrated the invention on a sneaker, phone cover, toy car and toy chameleon.
The inventors believe that by adopting the transformable ink, manufacturers can stop over-producing and consumers can help eliminate the use of “countless resources” while expressing their individuality.
The ink currently works alongside a digital interface designed by the CSAIL team, which is used to create designs to be casted onto objects.
To color items, the objects are placed in a box shone by a special projector that eliminates unneeded pigments. Blue light, for example, is absorbed by yellow dye, so to create blue, yellow is removed from the equation.
PhotoChromeleon is made out of three photochromic dyes—cyan, magenta and yellow—that can be erased using ultraviolet light.
The technology is being backed by Ford Motor Company, which is looking for ways to save ink in the automotive industry. “This ink could reduce the number of steps required for producing a multicolor part, or improve the durability of the colour from weathering or UV degradation,” explained Alper Kiziltas, technical specialist of sustainable and emerging materials at Ford Motor Company. Kiziltas also envisions that people might be able to customize their vehicles “on a whim” in the future.
The researchers hope to advance the technology by expanding PhotoChromeleon’s color palette.
Image via MIT CSAIL HCI Engineering Group
Image via MIT CSAIL HCI Engineering Group
Image via MIT CSAIL HCI Engineering Group
Image via MIT CSAIL HCI Engineering Group
[via Dezeen, video and images via MIT CSAIL HCI Engineering Group]
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