Draw a clock to the air

Jussi Angesleva’s “Spin” is an array of LEDs on a keychain that you spin to draw a clock to the air. Clockwise motion draws the image to you, counter-clockwise to the people in front of the device. The double mode display of time comments on the increasing introversion in how personal devices are currently designed to be used.

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The LED array is controlled by a PIC-microcontroller and an inbuilt accelerometer. The spinning speed pulses the LED draw to create a steady circular image in space.

“Spin” has three display modes. In the analog mode, an arc is drawn where the leading edge shows the hour and the far edge the minutes. Digital mode shows the current time and date in digits in the top and bottom quadrants of the display respectively. The hybrid mode provides instant overview of time but with the accuracy of digital display; the digital number display is rotated around the clock face as the hour hand.

One of Angesleva’s other works, Last (designed in collaboration with Ross Cooper) has just been nominated for a BAFTA in the Interactive Arts category of the 2005 Interactive.