URBAN CAMOUFLAGE
URBAN CAMOUFLAGE material reference for urban preys
Davide Dulcetti Sang Hyeon Cho Design Academy Eindhoven 2008
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morphing and texturizing chromic change luminescence moving optical illusion triggering hiding shape memory
morphing and texturizing
cutter fish The puffers’s unique and distinctive natural defenses are great due to their particular form of locomotion. Puffers use a combination of pectoral, dorsal, anal, and caudal fins for propulsion that make them highly maneuverable but very slow, and therefore comparatively easy targets for predators. As a defense mechanism, puffers have the ability to inflate rapidly, filling their extremely elastic stomachs with water (or air when outside the water) until they are almost spherical in shape. Thus, a hungry predator stalking the puffers may suddenly find itself facing what seems to be a much larger fish and pause, giving the puffers an opportunity to retreat to safety. When lifted out of water there is a risk that puffers inflate with air. This may result in problems deflating again afterwards. When this happens with aquarium specimens the recommended course of action for fishkeepers is to hold the puffer underwater by the tail, head upwards, and shake the fish gently until the air escapes out of the mouth.
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blend disguise texture hide
Manufacturer Arteca Viale dei Lavoro, 2 37036 Martino Italy T +39 045 8871 711 italconv@tin.it Avantige This material - a high-tech polyester-and-Lycra blend impregnated with silver- is the first laminated stretch fabric that does not crack. Made according to a new technology developed by Invista (formerly DupontTextiles & Interior), Avantige can be stretched over all manner of frames, including chairs and other seating objects, giving them a metallic appearance while remaining flexible and impermeable yet breathable. Other uses include weatherproof outerwear, protective clothing and shoes, and industrial applications.
Manufacturer Synthetix 11, rue des Grandes CuItures 93100 Montreuil France T +33 (0)1 4870 7298 F +33 (0)1 4870 7446 info@synthetix.tr www.synthetix.f r
Synthetix As a manufacturer specializing in new plastic fabrics, foams and gels, Synthetix and its various consultants focus on materials well suited to the needs of architects and designers. Current favourites are silicone and polyurethane, plastics from which Synthetix crafts products such as foam membranes, innovative gels, silky fabrics and transformative materials. Synthetix offers clients advice and prototyping services, beginning with the simplest of ideas and culminating in the integration of a mass-produced object into today’s complex markets.
puffer fish The puffers’s unique and distinctive natural defenses are great due to their particular form of locomotion. Puffers use a combination of pectoral, dorsal, anal, and caudal fins for propulsion that make them highly maneuverable but very slow, and therefore comparatively easy targets for predators. As a defense mechanism, puffers have the ability to inflate rapidly, filling their extremely elastic stomachs with water (or air when outside the water) until they are almost spherical in shape. Thus, a hungry predator stalking the puffers may suddenly find itself facing what seems to be a much larger fish and pause, giving the puffers an opportunity to retreat to safety. When lifted out of water there is a risk that puffers inflate with air. This may result in problems deflating again afterwards. When this happens with aquarium specimens the recommended course of action for fishkeepers is to hold the puffer underwater by the tail, head upwards, and shake the fish gently until the air escapes out of the mouth.
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morph inflate grow scare
Manufacturer: Federal-Mogul 26555 Northwestern Highway Southfeld, M1 48034 USA T +1 248 3547 700 F +1 248 3548 950 www.federal-mogul.com
Expando Expando is an expandable chafe-resistant, braided oversleeve made from polyester monofilament.Thanks to the openweave construction of the material, Expando products can be fitted over objects that are long and thin or short and wide.This highperformance easy-to-handle product is normally used for the protection of electrical and electronic systems such as those in the rail-transport sector. Expando comes in many diameters and lengths, all with an expansion ratio of 1:2. Expando oversleeves withstand temperatures ranging from -50째 to +125째C.
Manufacturer Stockhausen Bakerpfad 25 47805 Krefeld Germany T + 49 ( 0 ) 2 1 5 1 38-1314 F +49 (0)2151 38-1147 creaservice@degussa.com www.creasorb.com
Stockosorb Stockosorb is a nontoxic, water-retaining polymer often referred to as hydrogel. It comes in the form of small white granules that can absorb up to 300 times their weight in water. Put a few granules into a glass of water, and minutes later you have a compact block of water-saturated gel.Thanks to its unique composition, Stockosorb remains active for years. Used mainly for soil irrigation, waterretaining polymers are also a boon to manufacturers of medicine and to the food (preservation) and paper industries.
chromic change
chamaleon All chameleon species are able to change their skin colour. Chameleons change their colour in response to light exposure and ambient temperature. Different chameleon species are able to change different colours which can include pink, blue, red, orange, green, black, brown and yellow. Chameleons are naturally coloured for their surroundings as a camouflage. However, recent research has indicated that Chameleons may use colour changes as a method of communication, including to make themselves more attractive to potential mates. Chameleons have specialized cells, collectively called chromatophores, that lie in layers under their transparent outer skin. The cells in the upper layer, called xanthophores and erythrophores, contain yellow and red pigments respectively. Below these is another layer of cells called iridophores or guanophores, and they contain the colourless crystalline substance guanine. These reflect, among others, the blue part of incident light. If the upper layer of chromatophores appears mainly yellow, the reflected light becomes green (blue plus yellow). A layer of dark melanin containing melanophores is situated even deeper under the reflective iridophores. The melanophores influence the ‘lightness’ of the reflected light. All these pigment cells can rapidly relocate their pigments, thereby influencing the colour of the chameleon.
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blend chromic communicate
James Robinson is a world leader in the development of innovative photochromic dyes. Reversacol is a special dye that reversibly changes color upon exposure to ultraviolet sources, such as sunlight. Reversacol photochromic dyes are offered in twenty vibrant colors. There is also a range of unique single-molecule photochromic grays, which offer the advantage of achieving a neutral color without the need to mix several dyes.
Reversacol can be added to plastics, inks and coatings, and applications including, but not limited to, ophthalmic photochromic lenses and sunglasses, security inks and coatings for passports and brand protection, perfume and cosmetic packaging, optical switches, mobile phone covers, ski and sportswear, and nail varnish. Reversacol photochromics can be combined with a wide range of specialeffect colorants, such as light angle-dependent interference pigments, thermochromics, liquid crystals, and permanent dyes to produce unusual photochromic effects.
Manufacturer GLB Heinrich-Hertz-strasse 2 44227 Dortmund Germany T F +49 (0)231 7978 509 sekretariat@glbau.de www.glbau.de
Holo-Color is made of ordinary laminated glass, but instead of having a PVB film sandwiched between the plies, it has a holographic grid that refracts light in the manner of a prism. A mbient white I ight ret racted by the grid is transformed into a full spectrum for an aesthetic rainbow effect.The viewer sees a surface that looks like conventional clear glass until he reaches the angle of refraction (a number of angles of refraction are possible). Holograms can be laminated into al I sorts of glass (flat or curved).The product is suitable for indoor or outdoor use.
PHOTO-CHROMATIC COATINGS are liquid and transparent materials that can be sprayed or printed wafer-thin onto various surfaces. They are manufactured on the basis of organic photo-chromatic dyes and darken with increasing light intensity - or color the moment they are exposed to UVA or UVB rays. Depending on the intensity of the ambient light, the transmission of the photo-chromatic coating can vary 90-100% within only a few seconds. By varying the matrix, the transmission can be regulated without gradations for different applications or light intensities. In terms of functional properties, the photo-chromatic coatings resemble those used for photo-chromatic lenses (sunglasses).They are likewise scratchproof and can be manufactured in different colors. Another special feature is that they require far lower material inputs, and are cheaper to apply - not only to glass, but also to all smooth materials. >> The white pottery figure turns colored the moment it is exposed to the sunlight, height: 310mm
COLOUR-CHANGING PLASTIC Thermo Chromic Dyes Thermochromism is the ability of substance to change color due to a change in temperature. A mood ring is an excellent example of this, but it has many other uses. Thermochromism is one of several types of chromism. The two precision range is but their
basic approaches are based on liquid crystals and leuco dyes. Liquid crystals are used in applications, as their responses can be engineered to accurate temperatures, but their color limited by their principle of operation. Leuco dyes allow wider range of colors to be used, response temperatures are more difficult to set with accuracy.
luminescence
jelly fish Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism as the result of a chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy. Its name is a hybrid word, originating from the Greek bios for “living” and the Latin lumen “light”. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is involved in most instances. The chemical reaction can occur either inside or outside the cell. In bacteria, the expression of genes related to bioluminescence is controlled by an operon called the Lux operon. Bioluminescence has appeared independently several times (up to 30 or more) during evolution[1]. Bioluminescence occurs in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as microorganisms and terrestrial animals. Symbiotic organisms carried within larger organisms are also known to bioluminesce.
This jellyfish is capable of producing flashes of blue light by a quick release of calcium (Ca2+) which interacts with the photoprotein aequorin. The blue light produced is in turn transduced to green by the now famous green fluorescent protein (GFP). Both aequorin and GFP are important tools used in biological research.
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glow light communicate repulse
Manufacturer Prestige Visual International Roissypole BP 13918 95731 Roissy CDG cedex France T +33 (0)1 7437 2626 F +33 (0)1 7437 2726 info@lightiss.com www.holographing.com
Lightiss A product in which ordinary textile fibres are interwoven with optic fibres, Lightiss relies on a patented machine that abrades the core of the PMMA optic fibre used, thus creating a product whose light intensity can be modulated according to its distance from the light source and I or the configuration desired. Light intensity is constant throughout the length of the fibre, giving the fabric exceptional luminous homogeneity and brightness. Applications include interior design, exhibition design, fashion design and advertising
Manufacturer Prestige Visual International Roissypole BP 13918 95731 Roissy CDG cedex France T +33 (0)1 7437 2626 F +33 (0)1 7437 2726 info@lightiss.com www.holographing.com
Split electrode EL panels / strips have a line in the center of the panel, creating two electrodes. This type electroluminescent panel is a good back light source for signs where a small center line will not detract from your graphic or where long length strips are needed for accent lighting, pathway lighting or area illumination. A small amount of diffusion will hide the center line. The split electrode EL panel is available in lengths of up to several hundred feet. Parallel electrode EL panels have a clear front electrode and an opaque rear electrode and no center line. This type panel may be more appropriate for back lighting fine-art, photographs and signs where a small line in the graphic would be objectionable.
Manufacturer DualGlo PO Box 206 Hereford HR1 3YG England T +44 (0)1432 8209 99 sales@dualglo.co.uk www.dualglo.co.uk
DualGlo Phosphorescent materials store up photons and release them over time in the dark.Their phosphorescent capacity decreases rapidly, however, and until recently onlytwo colours were available. DualGlo phosphorescent pigments herald the dawn of a new generation of luminous plastics and paints.These pigments enable greater and longer luminosity. DualGlo is available in yellow, red blue, green and brilliant white. It is nonradioactive and suitable for use in children’s toys. It takes only a few minutes to recharge and, once recharged, emits light for about 20 hours.
The Glow Company UK Ltd. 4 Delta Court Doncaster International Airport DN9 3GN
T +44 01302 771 446 www.theglowcompany.co.uk
The Glow Company UK are dedicated in offering innovative, practical & fun products that glow, flash, shine or glow in the dark coupled with great service. We aim to constantly provide new products based on various forms of current & new technology including chemicaluminescence, photoluminescence, & electroluminescence.
3M Manufacturer www.mmm.com
Radiant Color Film The technique of depositing metal particles on glass in a vacuum to obtain a dichroic effect is not new. More recent is the appearance of a dichroic effect on flexible plastic fiim7 which requires a highly accurate and complex procedure. Radiant Color is 46-micron film composed of more than 100 alternating layers of polyester and PMMA. Each superimposed layer filters a particular wavelength of light. The film changes colour as the observer changes his viewing angle. Radiant Color Film is noncorrosive, non-conducting, shrink resistant, and easy to cut and tear. The product withstands temperatures up to 125째C.Two products are available: Blue-Magenta-Gold (CM500) and Cyan-BlueMagenta (CM590). Key applications include lighting products, interior design, packaging and signal films.
Manufacturer Color Kinetics T +1 617 4239 999 10 Milk Street, suite 1100 F +1 617 4239 998 Boston, MA 02108 USA info@colorkinetics.com www.colorkinetics.com
iColorTile FX LEDs are changing the face of lighting as we know it. Among the advantages of LEDs over traditional lighting techniques are durability (LEDs last as long as 100,000 hours), size (increasingly smaller) and power (increasingly greater). They are vibration-proof and energy efficient and emit neither UV nor IR rays. Colour control is a major asset of iColor tiles: each tile conceals 432 individually addressable, tri-colour nodes behind a sheet of translucent plastic, enabling precision operability and the creation of images based on a mix of red-green-blue.Tile size: 61 x 61 cm.
moving optical illusion
cutter fish
and the sun raylight effect The cutter fish also has the ability to imitate rays of sunlight to confuse other animals.
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LCF Light-control film (LCF) is a thin polycarbonate material containing closely spaced micro-louvres, which make it transparent when the user stands directly in front of a screen treated with it and opaque black when viewed from other angles.This privacy film is used mainly for computer screens. Automatic teller machines are usually equipped with LCF to ensure a clearer screen display and to prevent off-axis viewing of screen content. LCF is used in IT, security and the automotive industry.The film is available in sheets of 250 x 300 mm (maximum size) and comes in various grades with various louvre angles. Cost: approximately euro 100 per 10 sheets.
Manufacturer APLM 3, rue de l’Est 75020 Paris France T +33 (0)1 4358 1002 info@alioscopy.com www.alioscopy.com
Alioscopy A conventional lenticular animated image relies on a series of five or six frames to create the impression of movement or depth. Alioscopy offers between 15 and 60 embedded frames, depending on the degree of depth and fluidity desired.This impressive innovation enables genuine 3-D viewing of photos, videos and animated images on screens and panels. No spectacles needed. Applications include video games, museum displays, amusement parks, advertising and medical imaging.
Manufacturer Monavision 3d@monavision.com www.monavision.com
Deep 3D Lenticular film, which adds the illusion of depth and movement to an image, is a well-known product. Invented in the early 20th century, the technology behind this phenomenon involves a prismatic film superimposed onto an image that is broken down into successive bands. Monavision’s Deep 3D combines contemporary photographic techniques with image processing and a new imagemastering technology to further enhance the illusion of depth.
triggering hidding
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action transparency opacity
Manufacturer Thermo-Pad 5918 Kennedy Street Summerland, BC CanadaVOH 1Z1 T +1 250 4945 002 F +1 250 4945 003 admin@thermo-pad.com
Thermo- Pad A sodium-acetate solution and a small metal disc enclosed in a pouch of flexible PVC -the user flexes the disc, and the pouch releases instant heat (54째C).The technology is simple. The substance inside the pouch, which has a freezing point of 54째C, maintains its liquid state thanks to supercooling. Clicking the disc sets off a chain reaction (involving a crystallization process visible to the naked eye) that causes the temperature of the solution to rise to the freezing point (quite warm by human standards). By regenerating the Thermo-Pad for a few minutes in boiling water, the user can repeat the process hundreds of times.The product is ideal for medical applications, as well as for outdoor activities and promotional goods.
LIQUID CRYSTAL WINDOW
shape memory
millipede Millipedes (Class Diplopoda, previously also known as Chilognatha) are arthropods that have two pairs of legs per segment (except for the first segment behind the head which does not have any appendages at all, and the next few which only have one pair of legs). Each segment that has two pairs of legs is a result of two single segments fused together as one. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical bodies, although some are flattened dorso-ventrally, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a ball, like a pillbug. Due to their lack of speed and their inability to bite or sting, millipedes’ primary defense mechanism is to curl into a tight coil — protecting their delicate legs inside an armoured body exterior.
keywords:
shape change memory
Manufacturer: Euroflex G.Rau, Kaiser-Friedrich-Stasse 7 75172 Pforzheim Germany T +49 0 72312082 10 F +49 0 72312087599 www.euroflex-gmbh.de
Niti Tubes These extremely fine tubes are components of the precision instruments used in ophthalmology, neurosurgery, biopsy procedures and so forth. Other applications target the electrical and automotive industries. Depending on their composition and I or the thermomechanical treatment they have undergone, alloys of nickel and titanium offer shape memory and are super-elastic at different temperatures. Diameter: 0.13 to 13 mm. Maximum length: 300 cm. Melting temperature: 1310째C. Density: 6.5 g/cm3. Elasticity module: 41,000-75,000 M Pa. Maximum tension: 1070 M Pa. NitiTubes have a total stretch capacity of 10%.
Manufacturer: Memory Metalle GmbH Am Kesselhaus 5 D - 79576 Weil am Rhein Germany T + 49 (0)7621 799 121 www.memory-metalle.de
NiTinol wire is supplied in a wide variety of different alloys, sizes, conditions and surfaces. For a complete specification, the following parameters have to be defined: Alloy types: NiTinol sheet is available in different alloy compositions, some of which are superelastic materials (Alloy S), others are used as actuator materials (Alloy M and H). Thermomechanical condition: Each sheet can be supplied in different conditions, such as cold worked, flat annealed or shape annealed. Surface preparation: From standard dark grey oxide up to oxide-free (pickled) and ground or polished sheet surfaces. Conditions: • Af-temperatures between -100°C up to +120°C (standard alloys 0°C up to +120°C) • alloy fabrication possible upon special request Available as: Alloy S (Superelastic),Alloy M (Shape Memory) Alloy H (Shape Memory)