From MIT the dye that changes color like chameleons and extends the life of objects

    Objects like chameleons thanks to the new dyes from MIT, which make everything on which they are sprayed change color. A research group from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has managed to synthesize a reprogrammable ink that changes its appearance with light, giving "new lives" and thus encouraging reuse



    He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

    Objects like chameleons thanks to the new dyes from MIT, which make everything on which they are sprayed change color. A research group from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has managed to synthesize a reprogrammable ink that changes appearance with light, giving "new lives" and thus encouraging reuse.



    MIT has allowed everything to become a chameleon, therefore renamed 'PhotoChromeleon' which changes color to blend in naturally. The newly developed system uses a dye sensitive to ultraviolet rays (UV) and visible light sources.

    The ink is chemically a mix of photochromic dyes that can be sprayed or painted on the surface of any object to change its color, a completely reversible process which can be repeated indefinitely.

    PhotoChromeleon can be used to personalize anything from a phone case to a car to shoes that need an "upgrade". And the color remains, even when used in natural environments.

    Just a habit? In reality, the objectives are much deeper: making objects change color, while not having an impact on their overall wear, makes them become “new” in some respects, prompting a renewal without producing waste (even if with ink consumption).

    "This special type of dye could allow for a whole host of customization options that could improve production efficiency and reduce overall waste - explains Yuail Jin about this, first author of the work - Users can change their things and their appearance on a daily basis, without the need to buy the same item several times in different colors and styles ”.

    Technically PhotoChromeleon leverages an earlier system developed by the same research group, 'ColorMod', which uses a 3D printer to fabricate objects that can change their color. The limitations of this design (small color scheme and low resolution results) prompted the team to investigate potential updates.

    From MIT the dye that changes color like chameleons and extends the life of objects

    Photo: MIT

    Unlike the "ancestor" with which each pixel on an object had to be printed, often involving grainy and little variable dyes, PhotoChromeleon allows a decidedly wider fantasy: you can create zebra motifs, landscapes with multicolored fire flames, with a much wider range of colors.



    And from a practical point of view, the advances are also enormous, because, instead of printing every pixel, the new solution is one spray, obtained by mixing the cyan, magenta and yellow photochromic dyes in a single solution. Since each dye then interacts with different wavelengths coming from the outside, the team was able to control each "color path", activating and deactivating with the corresponding light sources, in order to modulate the desired result.

    So just spray the ink on the object and place it in a box with a projector and a UV light: the first "eliminates" unwanted colors and the second "enhances" those of interest, making the new motif appear. And if you are satisfied, you can change everything at will.

    And for those who are not design experts, auser interface to automatically process drawings and models that go to the desired elements. At this point the program generates the mapping on the object before the light does its job.

    The team tested the system on a model car, a phone case, a shoe, and a toy chameleon. Based on the shape and orientation of the object, the process took 15 to 40 minutes and all the patterns showed high resolutions, with the possibility of quick and precise cancellation.

    “By giving users the autonomy to customize their items, they could save countless resources and the opportunities to creatively change their favorite assets are limitless,” concludes MIT's Stefanie Mueller.

    Future industrial applications? No, on the contrary. The team partnered with Ford Motor Co. to provide financial and aiming support to use the system on their vehicles, with the goal of reducing the number of steps required to produce multi-colored parts and improving the dye's resistance to atmospheric agents. , particularly limiting the degradation induced by UV radiation.



    We will have soon many new items without buying them back?

    The work was published on proceedings of the conference ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) 2019, getting the best article award.

    Read also:

    • How to make various colors from common ingredients
    • Completely natural food dyes from Brazilian fruits

    Roberta de carolis

    Cover: MIT News

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