Materializing Light: Real-time, Handheld Fabrication of Programmable Structural Color
Name
myers-parism-SM-MAS-2025-thesis.pdf
Description
Thesis PDF
Size
168.47 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
bf8642480549a56d03b6987cc22f53e4
Author(s)
Myers, Paris G.
Advisor(s)
Mueller, Stefanie
Date Issued
May 2025
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Structural color is nature’s programmable color palette. While pigments and dyes absorb light to produce color, structural color uses nanoscale, light-reflecting structures to appear iridescently colored. We present MorphoChrome, an optical device for real-time, handheld, programmable structural color fabrication. Analogous to painting with light, MorphoChrome creates multicolor, structurally colored designs
by exposing a commercially available holographic photopolymer film to user-controlled wavelengths. Within the device, red, green, and blue laser diodes go through an optical prism, combining light and producing mixed color outputs on the film. Additionally, we introduce a resin-based process to adhere and integrate the structurally-colored film with flexible and rigid objects and diverse making processes. In this thesis, we focus on the device optical design and fabrication, color-mixing,
color output UI controller, device aperture tips, and holographic photo-polymer film adherence process. We evaluate the available color space and color resolution, and demonstrate creative fabrication applications.
MIT Department
Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Terms of Use
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Copyright retained by author(s)
Persistent DSpace Link
