The HypoSurface System: a Technology Organism

Double Helix Sponsor Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) chose an innovative new display media developed by MIT Professor Mark Goulthorpe, and an international team of designers and engineers, as a unique approach to highlight its commitment to innovation during the 2007 BIO International Convention.

Check out the HypoSurface in the lobby next to the Globe.

On display in the BCEC main lobby, the HypoSurface^TM system is a powerfully visceral display medium - a huge billboard where the screen surface physically moves. The surface behaves like a precisely controlled liquid: waves, patterns, logos, even text emerge and fade continually within its dynamic surface. The human eye is drawn to physical movement, and this gives HypoSurface a basic advantage over other display systems.

HypoSurface includes a generative sound as well as a movement environment that evolves continually, evoking the transformative logic of biological systems. Biogen Idec Vice President and BIO 2007 Executive Committee Co-Chair Gunther Winkler seized the opportunity to sponsor the world's first dynamic surface display system. "HypoSurface is highly innovative, dynamic and responsive to human interaction- a perfect symbol for biotechnology in its role in the transformation of scientific discovery into advances in human healthcare. "

"As a digital device," creator Mark Goulthorpe explains, "any input, such as sound or movement, can be linked to any output, what appears on the HypoSurface. This offers full interactivity with an audience, and a simple interface allows HypoSurface to be 'tuned' to any event, its wide range of effects choreographed easily. HypoSurface uses powerful 'information bus' technology to control many thousands of moving actuators to form and deform a pliable surface, allowing high-speed movement of the screen surface."

The dynamic new display technology of HypoSurface has garnered innovation awards internationally, and its breakthrough into actual 3d movement where information is linked to form creates a buzz wherever it is installed.

HypoSurface was first shown in Hanover, Germany at CeBIT, the world's largest trade fair showcasing digital IT and telecommunications solutions for home and work environment, where it caused a great stir amongst attendees and the press covering the event for its emotive power - every night it caused a spontaneous party. Its introduction to the US came about as the frontispiece of the IMTS (International Manufacturers Technology Show) at McCormick Place in Chicago, where it was used to simply showcase its information bus potency, with hundreds of actuators effortlessly coordinated mathematically.

As Goulthorpe said, "The HypoSurface itself is like an organism; responsive, stunning and organic in nature. It is captivating and full of endless possibilities." To see for yourself, visit the Biogen Idec HypoSurface display in the main lobby.