150 BC – Greek Orrery

An orrery is a mechanical model of the solar system. The left image shows the Antikythera, the oldest known orrery. The middle image shows a virtual reconstruction. The right image shows a contemporary orrery. The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient analog computer designed to predict astronomical positions and eclipses. It was recovered in 1900–01 from the Antikythera wreck, a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera. The instrument was designed and constructed by Greek scientists and has […]

An orrery is a mechanical model of the solar system. The left image shows the Antikythera, the oldest known orrery. The middle image shows a virtual reconstruction. The right image shows a contemporary orrery. The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient analog computer designed to predict astronomical positions and eclipses. It was recovered in 1900–01 from the Antikythera wreck, a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera. The instrument was designed and constructed by Greek scientists and has been dated between 150 to 100 BC. After the knowledge of this technology was lost at some point in antiquity, technological artifacts approaching its complexity and workmanship did not appear again until the 14th century, when mechanical astronomical clocks began to be built in Western Europe. Sources: Wikipedia. Antikythera. NOVA documentary on the Antikythera. Wikipedia. Orrery. Middle image: Massimo Mogi Vicentini (2012) The Antikhytera Celestial Machine: fragments of genius from a legendary science. Right image by Zeamon.

Added by: Melanie Bacou & Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Physical model Tags: astronomy, greece, mechanical interaction, physical computation, pragmatic, science, time

1200 – Pop-Up and Movable Books

While gatefold mechanisms were already used in the 1100s, one of the first movable paper mechanisms was a volvelle created by Benedictine Monk Matthew Paris to calculate the dates of Christian holidays in his book Chronica Majorca (1236-1253, see left image above). Volvelles are paper discs or rings placed on top of each other that rotate around a string or rivet. Many other types of paper mechanisms have been invented since then, such as flaps, which were used in anatomy books starting from […]

While gatefold mechanisms were already used in the 1100s, one of the first movable paper mechanisms was a volvelle created by Benedictine Monk Matthew Paris to calculate the dates of Christian holidays in his book Chronica Majorca (1236-1253, see left image above). Volvelles are paper discs or rings placed on top of each other that rotate around a string or rivet. Many other types of paper mechanisms have been invented since then, such as flaps, which were used in anatomy books starting from the 16th century (see second image above, 17th century, and third image, undated). Only in the 19th century did movable books started to be used for entertainment purposes and for children. Ellen G.K. Rubin (aka the pop-up lady) has a rich website and a must-watch talk about the history of pop-up and movable books. For a modern example of a pop-up book used to convey data, see our entry 2013 - Pop-Up Infographics. Sources: Ellen G.K. Rubin, Pop-up Lady Website. Mugdha Kale, Pop-Up Design. E.D.W. Lynch (2011) Animated Anatomies, An Exhibition of Antique Medical Pop-Up Books. (with link to a video) Left and middle image from popuplady.com, right image from laughingsquid.com.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic, sent by: Benjamin Bach. Category: Enabling technology Tags: anatomy, book, mechanical interaction, paper, pop-up

1753 – Barbeu-Dubourg's Machine Chronologique

Before Joseph Priestley published his famous timelines, Frenchman Jacques Barbeu-Dubourg built a 16-meter long timeline showing 140 years of world history, which can be mechanically scrolled and folded for transport. Not a physical visualization but maybe the first “interactive” timeline representation in history. Seen in a talk by Catherine Plaisant. Sources: Stephen Boyd Davis (2009) The First Modern Timeline? Stephen Ferguson (1991) The 1753 Carte Chronographique by Jacques Barbeu Du Bourg. […]

Before Joseph Priestley published his famous timelines, Frenchman Jacques Barbeu-Dubourg built a 16-meter long timeline showing 140 years of world history, which can be mechanically scrolled and folded for transport. Not a physical visualization but maybe the first “interactive” timeline representation in history. Seen in a talk by Catherine Plaisant. Sources: Stephen Boyd Davis (2009) The First Modern Timeline? Stephen Ferguson (1991) The 1753 Carte Chronographique by Jacques Barbeu Du Bourg. Photos from Rare Book Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Other Tags: mechanical interaction, temporal data, timeline

1839 – Théodore Olivier's String Models

Between 1839 and 1853 the French mathematician Théodore Olivier created string models to teach and demonstrate descriptive geometry, some of which could be manipulated. He was a student of French mathematician Gaspard Monge, who invented descriptive geometry and was already illustrating his ideas with rudimentary string models. Photo above: intersection of two cylinders. Sources: Nicholas Mee (2013) Strings, Surfaces and Physics. Photo above taken in the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris, see […]

Between 1839 and 1853 the French mathematician Théodore Olivier created string models to teach and demonstrate descriptive geometry, some of which could be manipulated. He was a student of French mathematician Gaspard Monge, who invented descriptive geometry and was already illustrating his ideas with rudimentary string models. Photo above: intersection of two cylinders. Sources: Nicholas Mee (2013) Strings, Surfaces and Physics. Photo above taken in the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris, see flickr set. Other models at exposed at the Canada Science and Technology Museum (but not in such a good shape!), see flickr set.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Physical model Tags: geometry, mathematics, mechanical interaction, teaching

1896 – James Ive's Mechanical Teaching Map

The boundaries of the United States transformed during the 19th century, often through violent means. Mapmaker James Ives created this mechanical map to help people, especially students, visualize these changes. Sources: Leventhal Map Center (2019) Tweet. Boston Rare Maps (2016) Fantastic mechanical map of United States territorial expansion. Video by the Leventhal Map Center.

The boundaries of the United States transformed during the 19th century, often through violent means. Mapmaker James Ives created this mechanical map to help people, especially students, visualize these changes. Sources: Leventhal Map Center (2019) Tweet. Boston Rare Maps (2016) Fantastic mechanical map of United States territorial expansion. Video by the Leventhal Map Center.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic, sent by: Jason Forrest. Category: Physical model Tags: cartographic, mechanical interaction

2011 – Manually Animated Graph of Scientific Data

Philadelphia-based multi-discipline artist Bradley Litwin built this physical chart that can be animated by turning a crank. It is the only manually-animated physical visualization we know of so far. It was commissionned by a pharmaceutical company, intended as an educational device for distributing to doctors. Bradley was kind enough to send us an image of the insides of the original prototype, "not quite as pretty as the final product", he says. His explanation: As the crank is turned, a […]

Philadelphia-based multi-discipline artist Bradley Litwin built this physical chart that can be animated by turning a crank. It is the only manually-animated physical visualization we know of so far. It was commissionned by a pharmaceutical company, intended as an educational device for distributing to doctors. Bradley was kind enough to send us an image of the insides of the original prototype, "not quite as pretty as the final product", he says. His explanation: As the crank is turned, a series of radial cams is driven around, each with a profile, derived from the data points along four different indices. The cams actuate cam-followers, which extend to indicators on the corresponding linear, Y axis of the display. The position of the cams is also geared to an elapsed time display, which is the X axis of the graph. If you like cams, also see our entry on ballistic cams from the 1950s. Source: Bradley Litwin.

Added by: Yvonne Jansen & Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: animation, mechanical interaction, science

2013 – Pop-Up Infographics

In 2013, Italian graphic designer Elena Turtas crafted four books that convey data about sustainability using pop-up and movable paper mechanisms. Source: Elena Turtas (2014) The Four Books of Visualising Sustainability.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: book, environment, mechanical interaction, paper, pop-up, sustainability

2020 – Venous Materials

. A team of researchers at the MIT Media Lab developed physical user interfaces based on fluidic channels that can interactively respond to mechanical inputs from the user, without any electrical power. Above, line charts that are activated and animated by pressure input. Also see our other artifacts involving mechanical interaction and physical computation. Source: Hila Mor, Yu Tianyu, Ken Nakagaki, Benjamin Harvey Miller, Yichen Jia, and Hiroshi Ishii (2020) Venous Materials: Towards […]

. A team of researchers at the MIT Media Lab developed physical user interfaces based on fluidic channels that can interactively respond to mechanical inputs from the user, without any electrical power. Above, line charts that are activated and animated by pressure input. Also see our other artifacts involving mechanical interaction and physical computation. Source: Hila Mor, Yu Tianyu, Ken Nakagaki, Benjamin Harvey Miller, Yichen Jia, and Hiroshi Ishii (2020) Venous Materials: Towards interactive, fluidic mechanism.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Enabling technology Tags: fluidic channels, mechanical interaction, physical computation