PhantomParasol: a parasol-type display transitioning from ambient to detailed

The combination of ambient and detailed information is important for displays in pervasive environments. We propose a parasoltype display called the “PhantomParasol” which can display both ambient and detailed information with smooth transition. The PhantomParasol consists of LED arrays, a gyro sensor, and microcontrollers put at the rear side of a parasol. When a user of the PhantomParasol holds it still, he can obtain ambient information from the blinking patterns of LEDs. When he rotates the PhantomParasol, he can see detailed 2D images composed from moving blinking LEDs. In this paper, we describe the concepts, implementation, and application ideas of the system in detail.