Up Close Look At E Ink’s Prism Tech

November 9, 2015 by Dave Haynes

E Ink was showing its Prism programmable tech at the SEGD XLAB event last week in New York – at a micro-booth right beside the transparent OLED that Planar was showing off.

It was a study in extremes – but a reminder, as well, that both simple and very sophisticated display tech can have a role in great projects.

The E Ink Prism product is, essentially, programmable architectural material meant for walls and other surfaces. It looks like a painted surface, but it can be set to switch colors based on programming work.

The company suggests:

Programmable patterns and shapes can be integrated to create designs or function. Doors can indicate if a conference room is occupied, wall designs can respond to noise, temperature, or motion in the room. Whatever the idea, the opportunities are endless and only limited by a designer’s imagination.

This is not digital signage in any traditional sense, but I can definitely see how it could be part of the broad mix of tech that drives a visual canvas in certain settings.

Here’s a gif of how it changes colours …