“This is not just a digital panel to replace an animated poster like you see on the Underground network, but a whole new way of life,” explained Professor Guido Giuliani of the University of Pavia. “You are instantly in control of your own environment: if you don’t like your bathroom in blue, now you can change it to green. Whether you prefer flowery wallpaper, ducks or Christmas trees, that’s up to you.”
Using photonics technology, the 'Luminous Electronic Tile', or LUMENTILE, project combines a plain ceramic tile with touch screen technology – including structural materials, solid state light sources and electronic chips – and can be controlled with a central computer, a smart phone or tablet.
The tiles, which can be switched off to a default setting, are equipped with an on board MCU, and operate on a lexical network invisible to the user.
With its durable nature, the luminous ceramic tile could be placed on the outside of a building for advertising, for example, or for changing its colour or appearance.
“External tiles would create a ‘chameleonic skin’, or instant camouflage. Although we are a long way off yet, this would allow a car or building to blend completely into its surroundings, and hence ‘disappear’,” Giuliani enthused.
Tiles could also become ‘smart floor panels’ with applications such as recognising when an elderly user has fallen over; recognising intruders; or creating a ‘dynamic path’ in shopping centres to direct shoppers to a particular store.
