Human Nervous System

Pulsing Stations

The first thing someone looking at the exhibition will notice is the shape of a human body displayed on a table combined with some sort of grey metro lines. However, even more attention is drawn by multiple blue spots pulsing in an outwards fading animation around physical 3D-printed platforms. These platforms signal to the user to place a control puck onto one of them, which triggers a nerve signal. Depending on its location, a different sense of the human nervous system is triggered, and information is displayed in a widget overlaying the body.

Process through One Path

Temperature Receptor

Let’s look at the temperature sense, for example. In our exhibition, the temperature sense is triggered once one places the puck onto the hand. This is the start of the signal transmission through the nervous system, which most of the time ends in our brain.

Now the puck gets fully highlighted in blue, but this time an inwards fading animation is played. This signals to the user that this is one of the interactive stops of our project. By pressing on the puck, the user can interact with the widget, which changes its outline to a highlighted state. In this scenario, a thermometer is displayed, and one can change the temperature to show how temperature sensors react to heat or cold. Small arrows alongside the station/platform signal users how far they can rotate. Once the maximum temperature is reached, the highlighted overlay state can be left again by pressing the puck again.

Spinal Cord

Every signal, except for reflexes, travels across the spinal cord and makes its way to the brain. Reflexes are directly processed here, and the signal changes direction to get back to the muscles.

Signal Relay

The signal relay splits the signals up into different areas where they are destined. It acts like a big cable management system, sorting the signals, which are pretty messy within the spinal cord.

Specific Brain Area - Somatosensory Area

After the signal arrives in the brain, it gets processed at specific areas responsible for sensory inputs.

Where Does Our Style Come From?

Our visual appearance is inspired by Harry Beck, a famous information designer who changed the way subway maps are drawn in the 18th century. Since one of us already did a presentation about him in design and media history, we were convinced this style could enhance the way we display information. Here you can see one of his versions of the London Underground:

Technical Devices

With the help of our professors, we designed a magnetic puck that detects rotation with magnetic sensors. We spent quite a few hours soldering some circuit boards with two Hall sensors, one button, and some resistors. In the end, we had a device with a rasterization that matched our steps.