Spinning Pixel Display

Team

Paden Thompson | paden.a.thompson@gmail.com

Project

The Spinning Pixel Display (SPD) uses a quickly rotating screen to give the illusion an entire image is being displayed all at once.

    Purpose:
  • Implements a technology prototype using a | small amount of pixels for a high-quality image.
  • Provides a positional image selector that is | safe to be spun by hand (unlike LED fans).
Displays a thin section of an image that corresponds to the current angle it is facing

System

Diagram

Methods

  1. cProvides a positional image selector that is | safe to be spun by hand (unlike LED fans).
  2. The image files are stored onto an SD card and given ordered index numbers.
  3. The onboard microcontroller reads in a pitch angle from the Inertial Measurement Unit from -180° to 180° and converts this into an index number.
  4. The selected image section is loaded from the SD card onto the display screen.
    Onboard Electronics:
  • Microcontroller | Arduino Uno Rev 3
  • Display Screen | 2.2” Thin-Film-Transistor Display
  • Inertial Measurement Unit | Adafruit BNO055 Absolute Orientation Sensor

Conclusion

The SPD successfully follows the pitch angle of the screen to display the correct section of the image.

The largest problem faced was that the display screen needed a much faster image draw speed to be able to keep up with fast rotations and wider image sections.

    Further work:
  • Same technology could be used for displaying images on the sides of | amusement park rides, such as Ferris wheels.
  • SPD could be used to create timed color designs for stage productions.
  • Tilt functionality could be added to modify the image by tilting the SPD device.