This was my CPSC 599.88 - Tangible UI Assignment 3. I had to work in a group to visualise personal data with physical output. We came up with the Tell-Tale Heart.

There are a lot of things that we do subconsciously that we do not even realize. One of them is pumping blood around the body, via the heart. A person’s heart rate can tell a lot of stories; whether they are nervous, excited, or close to death. So why not let people see this personal data of theirs, quite literally, in the flesh.

The inspiration for the name came from a poem written by Edgar Allen Poe where the narrator hears the heartbeat of the dead old man coming from under the floorboards.

Using a heart rate/pulse sensor and servo motors, we built a mechanism that replicates a person’s heart. The servo will spin accordingly to your heartbeat which in turn would move the mechanism in order to simulate a beating heart. You can feel your heart beating at the palm of your hands.

We thought that a person’s heart rate is a really cool personal data as it is live and can be affected in numerous ways. As for visualizing it, we thought why not make a replica of your own heart. After all, it is much better than having to cut someone open to see a beating heart