An Embedded Spatial Computing Platform for Interactive Environments

Abstract

The design of interactive environments has taken a leap in recent years. It has encountered issues similar to those faced before in distributed system: scalability, robustness, and complexity. We present an Embedded Spatial Computing platform for Interactive Environments. It makes use of research from the field of Computer Science and Embedded Systems to provide designers and architects with a platform that enables the use of rapid prototyping of interactive designs on embedded systems. We present the design and implementation of hardware and software for this platform. The platform is tailored to ProtoDeck, a floor consisting of 189 tiles equipped with RGB LEDs and pressure sensors. We have developed Cortex-M3 based nodes to control the tiles. The software platform enables the use of the Proto language by means of the DelftProto VM. It makes use of a real-time operating system for scheduling, handles both wired and wireless communication in the background, and features viral updating of applications. Evaluation of the platform shows the viability of using Spatial Computing techniques to progress the field of Interactive Environments. The platform proves capable of producing responsive and complex interactive behaviours in a fully distributed way.