Why Tokyo’s New Transparent Public Restrooms Are a Stroke of Genius | Hacker News Reader

Why Tokyo’s New Transparent Public Restrooms Are a Stroke of Genius

forbes.com

26 pointslightlyused13 comments

Curious how thick the transparent material is and what an infrared camera would see when it's in opaque mode and occupied by people.

>Around the world, public toilets get a foul rap. Even in Japan, where restrooms have a higher standard of hygiene than in much of the rest of the world.......

I would have put anywhere in stead of much.

So the question is, are their any place on earth where restrooms have a higher stand of hygiene than in Japan?

I wonder if this was built with security in mind. How easy would it be to tamper with the opaque switch?

Also is it fail-safe? Does it turn clear when the power fails?

It could be very embarrassing and/or result in some liability issues if not.

I didnt see anything in the article about how they handle privacy when you're actually using the toilets. How will they accomplish this part?

“The design relies on a new smartglass technology that turns the walls opaque when the door is locked.”

> The design relies on a new smartglass technology that turns the walls opaque when the door is locked.

Which is pretty much exactly what I expected when I heard the words "transparent public toilets."

It states in the article that they will turn opaque when occupied.

Paragraph 8: > The design relies on a new smartglass technology that turns the walls opaque when the door is locked. “At night, they light up the parks like a beautiful lantern,” according to The Nippon Foundation.

It’s like The Sims in Japan, anytime genitalia comes out, a blur box is generated over top of it like the symbol of the Laughing Man in Ghost in the Shell.

Source: Have been to Tokyo several times

This is explained in the text between the headline and the first line.

The text reads: "Pritker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban's transparent public toilets turn opaque when in use."

The technology used is probably something like https://www.smartglassinternational.com/electric-switchable-... which is opaque when unpowered and transparent when powered.

Perhaps because you didn't read it?

Explained in this video. https://youtu.be/xBvzzq3LF_w?t=61

> "You cannot see each other from the outside or inside"

Upon reading the details, quite brilliant!

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