Adobe Primrose AV Possibilities

The Adobe Project Primrose was shown off at the company’s Adobe MAX 2023. You can watch the unveil below. Christine Dierk, TJ Rhodes, and Gavin Miller from Adobe Research published a paper on the technology in 2022. The paper introduced a new-ish display technology to the acronym of AV; PDLC or polymer-dispersed liquid crystal. PDLC is a non-emissive technology.

Dierk wore a dress to the MAX 2023 stage showing off the material’s initial application: fashion. The dress that Dierk wore was able to change the style and shapes on the fabric using the PDLC. With a click of a button, the designs change, or the user can set the designs on a shuffle-like playback.

Primrose Possibilities

The technology is called Project Primrose, and it is the result of a collaboration between Adobe Research and the MIT Media Lab. The scales that make up the fabric shift when Dierk clicked a button. However, the Adobe team imagines a future where the display technology shifts as the wearer moves as in a Red Carpet or fashion show. Or just your normal dancing actions.

Where Adobe comes into play here is that designs can be created with Adobe products Firely, After Effects, Illustrator, and Adobe Stock. With Primrose, creators have an entirely new canvas.

Project Primrose is still in the early stages of development, but it has the potential to revolutionize the AV industry. According to the paper Dierk and her colleagues published last year, the material can be “cut to any shape, and dynamically diffuses light.” This type of low-energy, flexible material can be used in future digital signage, wayfinding, scheduling panels, or wraparound monitors.

The dress is a glimpse into the future of AV display technology, and it is sure to inspire new and innovative ways to think about communication experiences.