BlackBoxBrennstoffzelle is an interactive table that simulates the chemical reactions that occur in hydrogen fuel cells. By moving atoms and molecules on the table and through a “membrane” in a certain order, electrons are set free that make a light bulb glow.

BlackBoxBrennstoffzelle was developed in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems. An early prototype was created at the university using an already exisiting interactive table. The final exhibit was built from scratch and exhibited at the 2010 Summer of Science in Magdeburg.

The first prototype was created as part of a university project by a group of six people. I was responsible for project management, visual design and technical implementation. For the final exhibit, industrial designer Madleen Sklenar and me built the table, while programming was done by a student of computer visualization, Sebastian Till.