USF inventors have successfully developed a smart material technology using low cost materials. No external energy is needed to affect color change. In one application, the material is opaque under normal conditions. When contacted with a certain metal, it becomes transparent in seconds. The use of various materials and chemical concentrations are employed to obtain a variety of intensities and rates of color change. This technology may be utilized for commercial, residential, and transportation window applications. In addition, this technology is applicable in optical filters, marine, aircraft windows, toys, display products, and electronic devices.
(1) A film with the electrolyte, (2) a metal pin touches the film, (3) the color changes in a few seconds, (4) the metal contact is removed, and (5) the color is restored.