Kent State looks out a different window

Kent State University has spun out Flexible ITO Solutions (Fitos). The new company is commercialising technology that can turn windows from clear to opaque and back again.

The spin-out’s product is a flexible, transparent film that can be placed in between two panes of glass. The film is cracked, which creates electrode patterns that cannot be seen but can determine how much light is let through – turning the window clearer or more opaque, respectively. In essence, the technology is a highly advanced version of a venetian blind.

Currently, Fitos has an informal development agreement with an undisclosed smart window manufacturer to license the film. Longer term, the spin-out is hoping to use its technology to create cheap displays for touch-screen devices.

For now, Fitos is still lacking the funding to pay both its chief executive John West and chief operating officer Cevin Cole. It does however have one paid employee, postdoctoral researcher Nick Diorio from Kent State’s Liquid Crystal Institute, and an Akron University student, Paul Olson, doing an internship at West’s lab.