Now I see U, now I don't...

Thomas Hayes wrote: »

I am involved with a project that the client wants to have glass walls that will darken. I am wondering if anyone has ever used this technology and interfaced it with AMX?

Just do a google search (or search engine of your choice) for 'Smart Windows' and you'll see a bevy of companies offering products. We've seen windows that opacify to certain levels (darken like sunglasses) but none that go completely opaque (completely dark)

Spire_Jeff wrote: »

I'm not sure how much this has advanced, but a few years ago we were looking for the same thing. The only company at the time doing it was some very large company that I cannot think of right now (DOW keeps popping into my head, but doesn't seem right). I contacted them searching for the glass and they indicated that they had stopped production on it.

It seems that they were having problems being able to keep the glass blacked out (they were using LCD tech I think) and there were problems with the glass turning clear in the middle of taking a shower or at other inopportune times

That may be why Eric has not found a solution that goes completely dark?

Jeff

I think the problem has been to find a substance that go from one extreme to the other. It's not hard to find stuff that'll go all black. But it then doesn't clear up enough to be completely see-through. The systems I've seen use the same technology as an LCD display. I wasn't actually involved with installing or integrating them in that they connected to a lutron system with pretty much a contact closure. And then I was hooked up to the Lutron system.

I do know it was silly expensive and the result wan't that spectacular.

Back in my anti-terrorist security days I dealt with some of this stuff. Isoclima of Italy (link) was the big producer of the product at the time the product was called IsoLite. The IsoLite used to go from transparent to opaque but with a white or frosted look. A simple relay control was sufficient IIRC. They have a newer product called ChromaLite which is a variable darkening product but I don't think it goes all black either.

Isoclima's SPD technology was licensed out to another company called smartglass too, here's a demo page: http://www.smartglass.com/demo.asp

Contacting either mfg. they'll probably give you whitepapers or design guides on the product. Sounds like a fun project.


--John