Scatterpixels: Ad Hoc Reconfigurable Physical Pixel Displays

Antony Albert Raj Irudayaraj, Jeremy Hartmann, Omid Abari, Daniel Vogel

Keywords: Reconfigurable, Public Displays

TL;DR: Wireless LED pixel nodes are used to design custom displays of varying shapes and sizes at any desired location.

Abstract: Computer displays are a matrix of small, precisely aligned pixels to maximize fidelity within a standardized, defined area. We explore an alternative concept where pixels are individual physical entities that can be physically positioned and combined to create temporary ad hoc displays with arbitrary shapes, sizes, and functions. The fabrication and hardware design for a spherical single LED pixel is described that is inexpensive, wireless, and rechargeable with more than 70 pixels assembled. Smartphone-based computer vision methods are developed to register the positions of addressable pixels in arbitrary arrangements, and interactively guide fine-tuning of pixel positions when display content is known. Once registered, algorithms are presented to optimally render content on the pixels, and a communication protocol enables frame rates suitable for animation. Example pixel display configurations are described for applications like audience participation, way-finding, dynamic event signage, time-keeping, scoreboards, and ambient displays.

Track: HCI/visualization

Summary Of Changes:

Thank you for your constructive comments.
* We fixed the typos noted by reviewers and rephrased the last sentence in the Interactive pixels section of the Discussion.
* Regarding the design space of applications, we organized them by the number of dimensions and density (see sections 6.1 - 6.4). We agree other design space descriptions are possible, but we maintain this simple one is useful for our purposes.
* In principle, these pixels can work in 3D, but our current registration and image-fitting algorithms only support planar configurations. We revised the paragraph “3D Displays” in the Discussion to provide more details