Touch-enabled wall paint converts skin contact into electronics control

On/Off paint is a conductive wall treatment that enables touch control of various home electronic devices.

Now that we’ve seen whispering windows, motion-sensing walls and device-charging furniture, it doesn’t seem surprising to come across touch-enabled wall paint for the home. Sure enough, Nicolas Triboulot, Laurent Grapin and Thibault Thomas of Quark Design have come up with On/Off paint, a conductive wall treatment that can enable touch control of various home electronic devices. On/Off paint is grayish in color and is designed to serve as an undercoat on virtually any medium beneath traditional paints or wallpapers. Once applied, it enables touch-based control of electronic devices such as lamps or alarms. Including both paint and a hidden electronic device, the On/Off system is expected to hit the market this year, according to a report on e-lab, while Futura-Sciences reports that prices will be between 30 and 40 euros per liter. On/Off paint could potentially remove the need for light switches around the home, controlling virtually any kind of electronic device and even acting as a dimmer switch when users touch with different pressures. Tech-savvy entrepreneurs: one to get involved in? Spotted by: Francois Lavaste