Making Concrete Interactive

Tokihiko Fukao of the University of Tokyo has developed a new kind of light-sensitive concrete. The material is sensitive to ambient light levels, able to take note of the luminosity distribution across its surface. The incoming light level data is then routed to a computer. This turns the concrete into a kind of control surface where varying degrees of illumination can be used to direct different audio and visual outputs.

Transmaterial explains more:

Light-Sensitive Concrete consists of concrete, embedded optical fibers, photodiodes, and electrical circuitry. Optical fibers are distributed within a regular grid, and sensors are attached beneath them in the same arrangement. The interactive properties of the material are intentionally hidden within what appears to be conventional concrete—suggesting possibilities for other light-sensitive building materials and surfaces as part of a total ambient interactive system.

Transmaterial: “Light-Sensitive Concrete”