Intelligent 3D programmable surface

Creating a highly programmable surface operating at relatively high speed and in real time is an area of research with many challenges. Such a system has applications in the field of optical telescopes, product manufacturing, and giant 3D-screens and billboards for advertising and artwork. This paper covers certain aspects of a keynote presentation at ISDT 2010 including system design, modularity, programmability and the system control intelligence. An overview of the system architecture, actuator design, electronics and distributed control will provide an insight into how the system is controlled and self-tuned for a number of applications. A simulation environment that has been developed to streamline system reconfiguration will also be presented, demonstrating translation of complex mathematical functions into 3D shapes virtually before being displayed on the physical surface.