Electronics

E Ink goes large to Dazzle San Diego air travelers

E Ink goes large to Dazzle San Diego air travelers
Water ripples and dancing snowflakes are among the Dazzle animations that will appear on the facade of San Diego International Airport's new Rental Car Center
Water ripples and dancing snowflakes are among the Dazzle animations that will appear on the facade of San Diego International Airport's new Rental Car Center
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Work on the Dazzle installation begins by mounting 2,100 E Ink Prism manels
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Work on the Dazzle installation begins by mounting 2,100 E Ink Prism manels
A computer programmed with more than 15 animations wirelessly controls the Dazzle installation
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A computer programmed with more than 15 animations wirelessly controls the Dazzle installation
Work on the Dazzle installation begins by mounting 2,100 E Ink Prism manels
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Work on the Dazzle installation begins by mounting 2,100 E Ink Prism manels
The purpose of Dazzle was to bring the 1,600 ft (488 m) long facade of the airport's new Rental Car Center to life using sustainable, programmable technology
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The purpose of Dazzle was to bring the 1,600 ft (488 m) long facade of the airport's new Rental Car Center to life using sustainable, programmable technology
The Dazzle installation is made up of 2,100 E Ink Prism film panels, transforming the facade into a huge animated mural
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The Dazzle installation is made up of 2,100 E Ink Prism film panels, transforming the facade into a huge animated mural
Water ripples and dancing snowflakes are among the Dazzle animations that will appear on the facade of San Diego International Airport's new Rental Car Center
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Water ripples and dancing snowflakes are among the Dazzle animations that will appear on the facade of San Diego International Airport's new Rental Car Center
Each parallelogram-shaped e-paper panel essentially acts as one pixel, and wirelessly receives display instructions from a computer brain programmed to deliver over 15 dynamic animations across the building's exterior
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Each parallelogram-shaped e-paper panel essentially acts as one pixel, and wirelessly receives display instructions from a computer brain programmed to deliver over 15 dynamic animations across the building's exterior
Dazzle is reported to be the largest installation of E Ink's Prism technology to date
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Dazzle is reported to be the largest installation of E Ink's Prism technology to date
Dazzle was inspired by a type of pattern camouflage developed by Norman Wilkinson and used during WWI to visually scramble the outlines of ships
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Dazzle was inspired by a type of pattern camouflage developed by Norman Wilkinson and used during WWI to visually scramble the outlines of ships
As the Prism panels do not emit light, the artwork will be mostly active during daylight hours, but when day turns to night, the installation will display static graphic designs
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As the Prism panels do not emit light, the artwork will be mostly active during daylight hours, but when day turns to night, the installation will display static graphic designs
View gallery - 10 images

The huge facade of a new rental car center at San Diego International Airport is now home to more than 2,000 E Ink tiles. Named Dazzle, the largest installation of E Ink's Prism technology to date – which uses technology similar to that found in e-readers, but adapted for architectural use – treats visitors and travelers to more than 15 custom animations created by artists.

The purpose of Dazzle, which was designed by Ueberal International in partnership with E Ink, was to bring the 1,600 ft (488 m) long facade of the airport's new Rental Car Center to life using sustainable, programmable technology. The installation is made up of 2,100 E Ink Prism film panels, transforming it into a huge animated mural that can be seen by airport visitors and motorists on Interstate 5 freeway and Pacific Coast highway.

Ueberal says that the permanent installation was inspired by a type of pattern camouflage developed by Norman Wilkinson and used during WWI to visually scramble the outlines of ships. Each parallelogram-shaped e-paper panel essentially acts as one pixel, and wirelessly receives display instructions from a computer brain programmed to deliver over 15 dynamic animations across the building's exterior, such as water ripples, moving traffic, dancing snowflakes and shifting geometric shapes.

Each parallelogram-shaped e-paper panel essentially acts as one pixel, and wirelessly receives display instructions from a computer brain programmed to deliver over 15 dynamic animations across the building's exterior
Each parallelogram-shaped e-paper panel essentially acts as one pixel, and wirelessly receives display instructions from a computer brain programmed to deliver over 15 dynamic animations across the building's exterior

The animations were designed by Ueberal artists Nikolaus Hafermaas, David Delgado, Dan Goods, and Jeano Erforth, and the airport says that the installation will not be used to display text or representational imagery, meaning adverts should not appear on the platform.

Given E Ink's low power requirements, and that a solar cell has been installed in each panel, the whole facade is reported to consume about as much power as a PC computer. If the support hardware is added in, then overall power consumption is claimed to amount to less that two flat-panel televisions.

As the Prism panels do not emit light, the artwork will be mostly active during daylight hours, but when day turns to night, the installation will display static graphic designs. You can see Dazzle doing its thing in the video demonstration below.

Source: San Diego Airport

DAZZLE at SAN's Rental Car Center

View gallery - 10 images
2 comments
2 comments
CAVUMark
I sure hope it doesn't turn into advertising!
P.S. the wall is not good for solar orientation.
ljaques
That looks absolutely useless to me; not art nor pretty graphics.