Liquid-surface Display Using Electrolysis Bubbles

Research was conducted regarding a display that presents digital information using bubbles. Conventional bubble displays require moving parts, because it is common to use air taken from outside of the water to represent pixels. However, it is difficult to increase the number of pixels at a low cost. We propose a liquid-surface display using pixels of bubble clusters generated from electrolysis, and present the cup-type device BubBowl, which generates a 10×10 pixel dot matrix pattern on the surface of a beverage. Our technique requires neither a gas supply from the outside nor moving parts. Using the proposed electrolysis method, a higher-resolution display can easily be realized using a PCB with a higher density of matrix electrodes. Moreover, the method is simple and practical, and can be utilized in daily life, such as for presenting information using bubbles on the surface of coffee in a cup.