Magazine "NewScientist" 31 October 2009

"NewScientist 31 October 2009

Smart walls control the room

WHO says wallfloers don't grab people's attention? A new type of electronically enhanced wallpaper promises not only eye-pleasing designs, but also the ability to activate lamps and heaters - and even control music systems.
Interactive walls are nothing new, but most designs rely on expensive sensors and power-hungry projectors to make a wall come alive. Now the Living Wall project, led by Leah Buechley at the Massachusetts Institute of Technlogy's Media Lab, offers an alternative by using magnetic and conductive paints to create circuitry in attractive designs.
When combined with cheap temperature, brightness and touch sensors, LEDs and Bluetooth, the wall becomes a control hub able to talk to nearby devices. Touch a flower to turn on a lamp, for example, or set heaters to fire up when the room gets cold.
Öur goal is to make technologies that users can build on and change without needing a lot of technical skill,"says Buechley.
To create the wallpaper, the team start with wafer-thin steel foil sandwiched between layers of paper which are coated with magnetic paint - acrylic infused with iron particles. On top of this base they paint motifs such as flowers and vines using conductive paint, which uses copper particles rather than iron. The designs form cicuitry onto which sensors, lights, and other elements can be attached.