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Moving coil dials are nothing new, they have been around since the invention of galvanometer devices in the 1800s and are more commonly associated with audio equipment in the era of analogue audio where it was used to represent volume (hence VU, Volume Unit). What makes this kind of display appealing is its mechanical motion, a connection to the physical world, unlike something like an OLED screen that resides in the virtual.
Developed in collaboration with Saša Karanović, the VU1 is a modern take on this retro display technology. What makes the VU1 different from other dials is the inclusion of an e-ink display that transforms what would be a dedicated and singular application device into something far more versatile. For those unfamiliar, e-ink displays are commonly used in e-readers and give a ‘paper-like’ experience as they have high contrast and don’t emit any light. Using this as the dial face allows it to be repurposed on the fly, changing the units and graduations to represent entirely different metrics.
In addition to the moving coil and e-ink, we have included RGB lighting but unlike its typical superfluous inclusion on almost everything PC related, these have a practical function. As e-ink displays are passive (don’t emit any light), they can’t be viewed in total darkness, so the RGB is used to provide illumination to the dial face and provide an extra colour-based dial value indicator.
Powering the VU1 is a robust open-source platform that has been designed from the ground up to be easy to implement so that support can be natively added to virtually any application. Rather than try to develop a parallel or competing application for every possible use case (which would also be impossible), we provide the Server App that acts as the gateway. With the use of industry-standard REST API, 3rd party developers and the community we help grow will create new and innovative uses for the dials.
A separate website dedicated to the VU1, 3rd party integration, community plugins and a discussion/support forum will be available at vudials.com
The VU1 is housed in a 55mm cube, machined from extruded aluminium and finished with our signature sandblasted & anodised surface giving it a premium look and solid feel. There are two types of device, a HUB and a DIAL and whilst they share the same design and construction, the HUB features an additional USB port for connectivity to the device that will be supplying power and data, e.g. your PC or Raspberry Pi.
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