Deeplocal’s Gumband Platform Provides Complete Control of Interactive Experiences

Pittsburgh-based Deeplocal is an innovation studio that helps companies, artists, and makers implement new ideas using both hardware and software. We’ve covered the company’s work on multiple occasions — from a mocktail-mixing machine to a poster-making plotter to a robotic hand — but their latest creation is an all-in-one platform meant to provide total control over interactive exhibit projects. Known as Gumband, the system allows users to build interactive exhibit (IE) projects via an intuitive software suite and a pair of modules designed to work with both the company’s platform and existing hardware.

“Our proprietary platform is the first of its kind, built to manage tangible interactive experiences. We invented custom software and hardware with your exhibits in mind.”

On the hardware end, Gumband is equipped with a pair of modules for hardware integration and secure communication. The Bundle is a fully customizable microcontroller built around a dual-core Arm Cortex SoC from Cypress Semiconductor, which is user-programmable. It also sports 42 GPIOs, as well as USB and Ethernet ports. The integrated firmware offers full AES encryption and supports numerous communication protocols.

Deeplocal’s Knot module provides a communication bridge between non-Gumband hardware and the company’s platform — including handling Ethernet connectivity and AES encryption, and acts as an interface to the Gumband server. It’s even compatible with Arduino (supports a virtual COM port), and serves as a USB host that can be connected to USB devices or a serial UART interface.

As for its software, Gumband features an intuitive dashboard that lets users control and monitor every aspect of their IE builds, such as tracking data and metrics. Deeplocal explains, “It shows you the most urgent action items first, such as installation errors, warnings, and notifications. The dashboard helps you easily navigate between real-time controls, scheduling, and reporting.” Gumband is available for demonstration, and pricing depends on the user’s project specifications. More information can be found on the Gumband website.