Wall decor meets science fiction with Digital Wallpaper

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

We've all seen it in the movies, but life could finally be imitating art when digital wallpaper launches in Japanese homes.

According to an article in NewScientist, Shimizu is using a thin liquid-crystal technology developed by the Israeli firm Magink to make 5-millimetre-thick wall tiles that display full-colour images.

Currently being called SmartBricks, these tiles will rely on ambient light to illuminate the image, producing a softer picture than backlit liquid-crystal displays. The effect, say its developers, is akin to that produced by real wallpaper.

The resolution of the current prototype is low, since the pixels are 5 millimetres wide shows only static images. However, there are plans to increase resolution and provide options that will include moving images.

However, don't expect this to end up in your local decor store anytime soon. At an initial estimated cost of $2,500 per square metre, this will surely be a unique item until production and demand are able to reduce the cost.