Inventors develop transistor to change color of any surface, your face notwithstanding

Color shifting has been a pipe dream for about as long as alchemists have claimed their studies to be legitimate, but now a brilliant team from the New University of Lisbon can finally say a breakthrough has been found. Essentially, these inventors have conjured up a transistor that changes the color of practically any surface (paper, glass, plastics, ceramics and metals, just to name a few). For what it's worth, this same team already has quite a bit of display cred, as it has developed technology currently used within Samsung panels. With the help of a few good men and woman at the University of Texas at Austin, the team was able to register for a patent right here in the US, and with any luck, they'll be giving OLEDs and e-paper a run for their money before we can snap our fingers twice and run around the block. Check a video (narrated in Portuguese) after the break.

[Thanks, Nelson]

[Tiago Henriques @ Apr 27th 2009 4:33AM]

Translated from Spanish?? Come on!

[Aaron @ Apr 27th 2009 4:21PM]

No, Portuguese, as in the official language of Portugal and Brazil...

[ChrisTheFeral @ Apr 27th 2009 4:29AM]

Does this technology emit light?

[Shinigami @ Apr 27th 2009 4:31AM]

It eats electricity, money and light. Doesn't emit either.

[Shinigami @ Apr 27th 2009 4:30AM]

A wild guess: they can print those transistors on a surface of different materials and change the transistor color, not change color of the surface itself. Which brings us to a conclusion: nothing really special.

[urandom @ Apr 27th 2009 4:43AM]

OR,

with a simple flip of a switch, you can change the color of the entire wall. you know, without having to repaint everything.

[superhobo @ Apr 27th 2009 6:22AM]

So now your entire wall would waste power just being a different colour. Great!

[Spiraling Shape @ Apr 27th 2009 6:46AM]

I think the point is that it only requires electricity when it is changing colors, not while it is static.

[yOtA @ Apr 27th 2009 4:31AM]

My University kicks ass.

[dsdshark @ Apr 27th 2009 4:44AM]

Congrats.

[avis @ Apr 27th 2009 4:32AM]

Color changing dress and invisible cloak next?

[Yup @ Apr 27th 2009 4:41AM]

Rorschach's mask for Halloween just got a bit more authentic...

[Twitchy @ Apr 27th 2009 4:48AM]

I hope you are wearing underpants when donning your 'invisible' cloak.

[Atlantian @ Apr 27th 2009 2:38PM]

they have already rendered things invisable with extremly coldtempsca laserbeams

[henderson.nick @ Apr 27th 2009 4:23PM]

Actually yes! http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/01/15/invisibility-cloak.html

[xdurus @ Apr 27th 2009 4:41AM]

AWESOME! Does this mean I can spread some of this gel on my penis and watch porn?

[thefist @ Apr 27th 2009 4:53AM]

Yeah, provided you can find some itty-bitty electrodes and magnifying glass.

[iGate @ Apr 27th 2009 4:57AM]

a bot?

[xdurus @ Apr 27th 2009 5:08AM]

"Yeah, provided you can find some itty-bitty electrodes and magnifying glass."

No I have a HD 1080Penis:)

[Daniel Carvalho @ Apr 27th 2009 4:46AM]

Please Engadget, don't insult our inteligence...and yours!!! Spanish translation...

Lisbon is in Portugal, and no, it's not part of Spain. geeeeeezzzzzzz!!!!!!

[Elvis @ Apr 27th 2009 5:33AM]

OK...let's see ! hmm ... only one language fit into your brain? Suppose that second language will emerge from the dark - into your brain... then you will really "insulted"...

[Daniel Carvalho @ Apr 27th 2009 5:41AM]

Elvis, i think you missed the point. There is no problem in translating the original web page. The problem is that it is in portuguese, not spanish. The translation comes totally screwed up. Try translating a german text using google set to translate from dutch or something like that, then see the result.
This wouldn't have happened if you americans knew a bit more geography...

[danthemanhan @ Apr 27th 2009 12:11PM]

so can I have a tattoo that disappears when I go for a work interview, or what?

[Benjamin @ Apr 27th 2009 5:13AM]

newspaper of the future anybody? he he... so technically your future computer screen could be on top of a piece of paper in a future...
(sort of feels like moving backwards dosent it?) i would love to be able to change the color of my house in every aspect at will :) from wallpaper, floor, sofa, outside pain, food? he he.. maybe not the last one.... anyway. this sounds like something out of sci-fi.. if it is true this might be one of the most unbelievable inventions of the century.. IF it works as i think it does...

[Cameron @ Apr 27th 2009 5:23AM]

i like the idea of a dress made from it, or a bikini lol, that would make a good prank! powered by solar cells!

[superhobo @ Apr 27th 2009 6:20AM]

I could do that with lemon juice and fire when I was six.

[Grindboy @ Apr 27th 2009 8:49AM]

With electricity or with an oven? I don't want to have to put my ebook reader in an oven to read it!

[Thijs @ Apr 27th 2009 6:37AM]

There was a company that made carpaint change colour too. They showed it on a Nissan a while back. This is basically the same idea right? You put a certain paint on a surface and with a current you can change the colour.
http://www.nextenergynews.com/news1/next-energy-news-paramagnetic-paint.html

[Rudi @ Apr 27th 2009 7:35AM]

So those women that drooled over the electronic nail polish in that scene from Total Recall will finally get their wish!

http://vampyblog.vampyvarnish.com/2008/09/16/total-recall-nail-salon-scene.aspx

[z-man @ Apr 27th 2009 8:15AM]

Am I the only one who thought "octocamo" when I saw this?

[maro maro @ Apr 27th 2009 8:33AM]

You know, and just from a totally nerdy standpoint, a transistor is a very specific electronic component with minimal requirements and functionality; I don't understand why this is thing would be called a transistor? Just saying...

[Mike @ Apr 27th 2009 8:39AM]

"few good men and woman"

So there's only one woman on the team?

[Str1ker @ Apr 27th 2009 9:09AM]

I could so damn excited when I first read this, but then I start thinking that it's too good to be true.
Can you actually change the colour of anything? Say, my keyboard...I want to make it bright pink. That's not possible right? How awesome would that be :)

[Jarrod @ Apr 27th 2009 9:23AM]

Maybe possible, but slightly gay.

[brettnem @ Apr 27th 2009 9:14AM]

Clear is *my* favorite color....

Hey weren't there also shoes that did this?

[sova @ Apr 27th 2009 11:48AM]

hook 'em!

[Guilherme B. @ Apr 27th 2009 12:35PM]

The original post is in PORTUGUESE and the translation is set to SPANISH. no one can read this properly, please correct it.

[Jeff @ Apr 27th 2009 1:32PM]

Should I be green with envy, red-faced with anger, or tickled pink? Cool concept if it can reliably coat surfaces to withstand day-to-day handling outside a protected display use scenario (behind a plastic or glass panel).

[Gyst @ Apr 27th 2009 1:34PM]

the refresh rate seems slow... possibly?