UK company Bare Conductive has launched a light kit on Kickstarter that lets you turn any piece of paper into a working, customizable lamp — no soldering or programming required. Each kit lets you build three types of lamps: a touch version, one that dims, and a proximity lamp where brightness is controlled by hovering your hand over a pad.
The kit uses a special non-toxic paint that is electrically conductive, called (very aptly) Electric Paint. The paint works on materials including paper, plastic, and textiles and can be used to make touch-sensitive buttons for interactive books, installations, and other applications. Electric Paint isn’t the first conductive ink out there, with other products like rollerball pens also able to draw working circuits. Bare Conductive’s approach is just a lot less nerdy than Circuitscribe’s.
The kit enables backers to use the electrical ink to create functional buttons for their lights. The kit also includes a light-up board (powered by USB) made up of six LEDs that feature three different lighting modes. Those who want something a bit sturdier than a paper version have the option to use plastic instead.
The Electric Light Paint kit is available on Kickstarter for an early bird price of £27 ($36.50) which will increase to £32 ($43) once the special deals are gone. The kit comes with everything you need, including the electric paint, the light-up board, paper templates, and a micro USB cable. The kits are expected to ship in December.