Philips, keen to put lights everywhere, has created a new carpet that will be able to deliver information thanks to LEDs that are built into the fabric and then disappear as if the message never existed. 

The new carpet, designed in collaboration with carpet maker Desso, will be invisible when not in use, but can be customised to deliver messages or graphics when needed.

Already in use in a number of places in Europe, the company is hoping that it will remove the need for pointless signs and mean a more clutter-free environment.

Called Luminance carpet, owners can change the words or graphics displayed via a computer or app on the iPad. The LED element of the carpet is available in strips of 20x80cm, but companies can bundle together multiple strips to create huge signs on the floor.

Installations of the technological carpet already in use include a bank that uses the carpet to direct customers around, a newspaper that lets staff read the latest headlines when they look down, and a building that uses it in case of emergency to direct people to the nearest emergency exit.

Up close and when the lights aren't on there is no way of telling that the technology exists beneath it. There are no seams, and no tell-tell signs that you might expect. Available in either white or coloured LEDs, Philips has been able to achieve this, it tells Pocket-lint, by changing the backing of the carpet to be see-through rather than traditionally black.

philips led carpet lights your way then disappears just as quick image 2

There is an additional cost of course, explained a spokesman for the company, however for those that need to direct people, or provide additional information without having to plaster the place with signs or hoardings it makes for an intelligent solution.