The glass-free display case opens a new era
There is no glass. But the object disappears the moment a hand comes near. The project was funded by Jean-Claude Biver and Hublot watches.
A glass-free display case...? A high-tech version of the knife with no blade and no handle? Clearly not — but rather "the answer to an impossible challenge: displaying valuable objects with no visual obstruction and in complete security." The "Raptor" project was initiated by Xavier Dietlin, the young director of Dietlin Artisans Métaillers. Funding was provided by Jean-Claude Biver, director of Hublot watches, who in return holds a 24-month exclusivity. Fiveco and Bluebotics, two start-ups from the EPFL Science Park, were commissioned to develop the computing and robotics for the project. The principle is simple — almost child's play — like a high-tech version of a jack-in-the-box. The end result is a terminal packed with electronics, infrared detectors, and mechanisms as subtle as they are discreet.
Watches, jewellery, and works of art can thus be displayed in their simplest form, on a bare plinth. But wandering hands beware — you look with your eyes only: like a sea anemone grazed by a clownfish, the displayed object retreats into its base at a speed of 2 metres per second the moment a foreign body approaches.
