19-12-2017
A consortium of European researchers, including César Laia and Jorge Parola, both researchers at LAQV at FCT NOVA, was awarded 6.7 million euros to develop the DecoChrom project for 4 years. This project will have other Portuguese partners, including Ynvisible, Sonae Indústria de Revestimentos and WeProductise.
The DecoChrom project elevates printed graphics products to the age of interactivity, and empowers the creative industries with the tools and innovative advanced material sets to design and build aesthetically pleasing practical human interfaces to smart consumer goods and environments. The DecoChrom consortium develops printed electrochromics (EC) as the mass producible, print industry compatible, ultra low-power interactive graphics solution for ambient intelligence.
DecoChrom will scale-up the production of advanced composite materials into 3 innovative ink EC colours, manufacturing process on different materials (plastic foil, paper, high-pressure laminates and 3D durable plastic parts), wide dissemination and creation of EC toolkits to introduce electrochromics to designers, makers and the printing industry, and finally the co-creation of more than 20 creative industry lead end-user prototypes and pilots for architecture, interior design, lifestyle and sports.
The project brings together a strong interdisciplinary consortium of 15 partners, industry and research balanced, with state-of-the-art backgrounds in design, chemistry, printing, coatings and laminates, electronics system integration, and complete electrochromics solutions. This is complemented with the commitment of a multidisciplinary Industrial Advisory Board with representation of key industry end-users such as Ikea (furniture), Lego (toys), BMW (automotive), Fiskars (domestic tools), Hoffmann + Krippner (printed electronics, industrial printing) and GSB Wahl (ink production).
Conception of an electrochromic gym floor with integrated line markings that can be individually switched on/off and of ambient lighting control using electrochromic foils on windows.
