Painting the Time on Flip Sequins
Sequino is a robotic clock that swaps pixels for flip sequins, using an H-bot system to "paint" the time on a shimmering canvas.
If you want to waste the next hour, grab anything that is covered in flip sequins and start tracing your finger over it. This fabric, which is covered in sequins that are a different color on each side, allows you to "paint" with texture. By brushing the sequins in one direction or another, they pivot to reveal a contrasting shade, essentially turning the material into a tactile canvas.
Considering how addictive playing with flip sequins is, it’s no surprise that this fabric has been plastered on top of everything from shirts to pillows and stuffed animals. But one place you aren’t likely to find it is in electronics — until now, that is. Ekaggrat Singh Kalsi has created what he calls Sequino. It is a clock that uses flip sequins as a display, and you’ve got to see it to believe it.
Sequino is a carefully engineered robotic system that blends elements of H-bot and Cartesian motion. The display surface is mounted on a soft backing, allowing the sequins to flip freely, while a moving carriage traverses the grid to “draw” the current time. This carriage is driven along the x-axis by a belt system powered by stepper motors, while two large ring-like structures on either side handle movement along the y-axis. Together, the coordinated motion allows precise positioning across the sequined surface.
One of the biggest challenges in the build was not the mechanics, but the material behavior. Flip sequins are designed to work on soft fabrics like clothing, and mounting them on a rigid surface prevents them from flipping properly. Kalsi solved this by introducing a thin sponge layer behind the fabric, restoring the flexibility needed for smooth operation without complicating the design.
Equally tricky was designing a tool capable of reliably flipping individual sequins. Human fingers naturally provide just the right combination of softness and friction, something that’s difficult to replicate mechanically. After experimentation, Kalsi developed a custom 3D-printed tip made from flexible TPU, shaped with a split hook to gently catch and flip each disk.
While the end result looks great, the updates are very slow. You wouldn’t want to rely on this clock for up-to-the-second time. Even so, I still want one. Check out the video below to see Sequino in action.