Software and
hardware design
Voting system for the Bloody Tower, in the Tower of London
Xor Systems was asked to develop a voting system, as part of a larger exhibition concerning the two Princes from the 15th century. The exhibition is contained on two floors within the Bloody Tower, in the Tower of London. The exhibition explains the story of the two Princes and presents a number of explanations of what happened to them. Our voting system allows the public to record their opinion and compare it with what other visitors chose.
The exhibition provides a fascinating background to this story and seeks to provide possible explanations. Xor Systems were approached by the Holmes Wood Consultancy and asked to supply a voting system. This allows visitors to the exhibition to show what they believe to be the fate of the Two Princes, one from three possible explanations. Holmes Wood provided the graphic and we provided the metal case and the electronics. The system records a vote when a button is pressed and displays the vote to date.
The Tower of London
The Tower of London is the number one Visitor's Attraction in Britain, depicting a thousand years of British history. The Bloody Tower contains an exhibition describing the life and death of the two Princes, Richard and Edward, who were the rightful heirs to the crown. 2 million people a year will experience this multi layered exhibition where Holmes Wood Consultancy designed the 3D environment, graphics, a projected movie, sound and the interactive interpretation which we supplied.
The exhibition depicts the little princes, Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York, whose tragic tale has given the Bloody Tower its sinister reputation. The boys were sent to the tower by their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, in 1483 when he became Richard III. Both boys mysteriously disappeared.
It was always assumed that they had been murdered on Richard’s instructions and their bodies buried somewhere within the grim fortress. When two skeletons were uncovered beneath a staircase of the White Tower in 1674 they were presumed to be the remains of the little princes and afforded royal burial in Westminster Abbey.
The unit is about a metre wide. The display is a glass sheet, with the graphic attached to the rear. Three square buttons pass through the glass. Three sets of bright red LEDs are used to display the count. The whole unit is powered by a processor board of our design, with software written by us to detect key presses. We included a 30-second delay after a key press to prevent multiple votes, should someone repeatedly press the key.
You can find out more about the Holmes Wood Consultancy and the overall exhibition at http://www.holmes-wood.com.
Xor Systems 01453 843033