A Modular and Extensible Hardware Platform Prototype for Dynamic Data Physicalisation
Xuyao Zhang, Milan Ilić, Beat Signer
TL;DR
The paper addresses the challenge of costly, time-consuming hardware integration in dynamic data physicalisation. It proposes a modular, extensible hardware platform with a plug-and-play architecture, a CAN-based main bus, and a PLC-assisted addressing/positioning scheme. A preliminary prototype with two modules demonstrates rapid prototyping capabilities, including address assignment, heartbeat monitoring, and dynamic value setting. The work aims to accelerate research and development in dynamic data physicalisation and plans future enhancements such as magnetic connectors, dedicated PLC hardware, a user interface, a self-describing variable specification, and open-source release.
Abstract
Dynamic data physicalisation is an emerging field of research, investigating the representation and exploration of data via multiple modalities, beyond traditional visual methods. Despite the development of various data physicalisation applications in recent years, the integration of diverse hardware components remains both time-consuming and costly. Further, there is a lack of solutions for rapid prototyping and experimentation with different dynamic data physicalisation alternatives. To address this problem, we propose a modular and extensible hardware platform for dynamic data physicalisation. This platform introduces a communication architecture that ensures seamless plug-and-play functionality for modules representing different physical variables. We detail the implementation and technical evaluation of a preliminary prototype of our platform, demonstrating its potential to facilitate rapid prototyping and experimentation with various data physicalisation designs. The platform aims to support researchers and developers in the field by providing a versatile and efficient tool for the rapid prototyping and experimentation with different data physicalisation design alternatives.