New paint changes color to reveal impacts

Imagine a paint that changes color depending on how hard its surface is hit.

It could be used on football helmets to monitor concussion-level impacts, to record the handling history of shipped packages, or placed on insoles to analyze an orthopedic patient’s gait.

The paint is the latest innovation coming from the Tufts University Silklab, led by Fiorenzo Omenetto, a professor of engineering. Omenetto and research assistant prof...