Tunable blinds for windows

A tunable blinds structure, comprising:

• a transparent substrate;
• a patterned electric conductor arranged on a surface of the transparent substrate, wherein the patterned electric conductor includes a plurality of individually-addressable conductive strips arranged in a vertical or horizontal direction along the transparent substrate,
• an elastomer structure arranged adjacent to the patterned electric conductor;
• and
• a compliant electrode network of conducting fibers arranged on a surface of the elastomer structure, wherein the compliant electrode network is configured to compress the elastomer structure in a presence of an electric field between the compliant electrode network and one or more of the plurality of individually-addressable conductive strips to produce a voltage-dependent roughening of the surface of the elastomer structure, wherein the compliant electrode network is configured to be held at a first voltage potential, and wherein the plurality of individually-addressable conductive strips are configured to be selectively coupled to at least one second voltage potential different from the first voltage potential.

A method of modulating translucency of an elastomer structure including at least one elastomer layer, the method comprising:

• generating an electric field between a compliant electrode network of conducting fibers arranged on a first surface of the at least one elastomer layer and one or more of a plurality of individually-addressable sections of a patterned electric conductor arranged on a second surface of the at least one elastomer layer opposite the first surface, the generating comprising:
• holding the compliant electrode network at a first voltage potential;
• and
• selectively coupling the one or more of the plurality of individually-addressable sections of the patterned electric conductor to at least one second voltage potential different from the first voltage potential,
• wherein the first surface of the at least one elastomer layer is compressed in a presence of the electric field to modulate the translucency of the elastomer structure at a location of the one or more of the plurality of individually-addressable sections of the patterned electric conductor by producing a voltage-dependent roughening of the first surface of the at least one elastomer layer.