Smartglass Restroom

Can you imagine, if the toilet is transparent and visible to everyone. But, it was there in Tokyo, Japan. Yes. It was located in the Public parks of Tokyo. How could they make it transparent? What is the mechanism behind it?

Normally we would not prefer using glass to build public toilets. But, in Tokyo they made it,     in order to emphasize the importance of cleanliness among people. The toilets are constructed by “SMART GLASS”.  You can see in the below picture. Initially, it was transparent and it was visible to everyone. Once the person enters the toilet and locks the door, the glass becomes opaque and will not be visible.

Introduction:

Smart glass or switchable glass become familiar in construction of board rooms, guest rooms, building, organization, etc., with its advanced technology. By using these glass technologies we can block light or insulate. Light transmission properties will be influenced by electricity. So, glass will be transparent. Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) is the widely used technology when it comes to smart glass. This type of technology is mainly used for indoor design in hotels, MNCs, VIPs rooms. First time in Japan, they have employed this technology in Public Parks for common people’s usage.  Pritzker – an architect, designed  these kinds of colorful restroom stalls to reduce the worry about safety and hygiene in the public toilets. 

Working mechanism:

Smart glass contains a Liquid crystal film in the middle of two glasses. When the connection turns on, the glass will be translucent. So it is visible to everyone. But if the connection is interrupted, the flow of electrons will be paused. Hence the passing of electricity will be terminated. This will make the glass opaque white. There are a lot of colors available for this switchable glass or smart glass.