Roof in darkened mode
Roof in transparent mode
Mercedes-Benz will introduce a new breed of "switchable" glass roof as an optional extra on the new SLK next year. The panoramic vario-roof with MAGIC SKY CONTROL can – aside from being quite a mouthful – either be darkened or made transparent at the touch of a button.
Based on the physics of a plate condenser, when the glass structure of the roof is subjected to an electric voltage, particles in the structure position themselves so that light is able to pass through. If there is no voltage the particles position themselves randomly, darkening the glass and partially blocking the light. This allows the transparency of the glass to be altered at the touch of a button located in the vehicle’s overhead console which controls a converter integrated into the front section of the roof.
But Mercedes says passengers won’t be the only ones to benefit from the technology. The switchable glass roof should also take some of the strain of the air-conditioning system, thereby cutting CO2 emissions.
Did you ever imagine yourself riding a “Back to the Future II” hoverboard? I did, and so did Nils Guadagnin who made a copy of one. “Integrated into the board and the plinth is an electromagnetic system which levitates the board. A laser system stabilises the object in the air.” Holysmokes!
"In the making of this work, this artist was thinking about different ways of presenting sculpture. In fact it’s a reflexion on the multiple possibilities of how to give a sculpture full spatial autonomy."
The project have been realised with levitation technology of Crealev company.
