Bringing Energy-Free Displays to Life

There are screens everywhere you look these days, from your wrist, pocket, desk, coffee table, and nightstand to the wall. They serve a lot of different purposes ranging from information display to entertainment and decoration. We certainly do not want to give up these many screens and the useful applications they offer us, but it sure would be nice if we could cut down on the energy consumption of always-on displays without losing out on their benefits.

At least for certain use cases, a group of researchers at MIT CSAIL and Zhejiang University has come up with an interesting solution. Called FabObscura, their system builds on barrier-grid animations, which have been around for well over a century. These animations work by physically passing a patterned sheet across a carefully engineered image to produce the illusion of movement. But barrier-grid animations have traditionally been limited to working with only simple shapes made up of straight lines.

FabObscura extends the technique in a way that allows the overlays to be far more detailed, introducing complex shapes and patterns that produce richer animations. Instead of just sliding a striped sheet across an image, you can now generate zigzags, circular grids, or swirling radial designs that change how the animation appears. This opens the door to a wide range of interactive, energy-free displays.

The system works by representing the overlay’s shapes as continuous functions. This gives users the flexibility to create virtually any pattern they can imagine. A simple constant function produces the familiar straight-line barriers, while a sine function creates smooth waves that animate like mountain ranges sliding across the page. Users enter equations directly into software developed by the researchers, which then generates a printable design ready to pair with an image.

Users can upload a set of animation frames — say, a horse running — or select from built-in sequences, like an eye blinking. FabObscura then interlaces the frames into a single image and generates a corresponding barrier sheet. When the sheet is moved over the image, the animation comes to life. The software also supports nested animations, where multiple sequences are layered together. Depending on how the barrier moves, viewers might see completely different animations play out on the same surface.

To demonstrate how the technology can be integrated into everyday life, the team created a coaster that flips between a coffee cup and a martini glass depending on where you press, a jar lid that blossoms into a sunflower as you twist it, and a toy vehicle that morphs from a car into a motorcycle with a change of direction.

There are, however, trade-offs when it comes to more complex creations. Elaborate designs, like nested animations, can sacrifice visual clarity. The team has issued design guidelines to help creators strike a balance, recommending fewer frames and high-contrast images for the best results. Looking ahead, they plan to expand FabObscura to accept video files and even explore 3D applications using advanced fabrication techniques.