13. Skin Electronics¶
Week Assignment¶
Weekly Quest
Global lecture by Katia Vega, beauty tech designer, Assistant Professor of the Department of Design at the University of California - UCDAVIS.
Planning for this week:
Wednesday
10-13 Mini presentation on possibilities, then brainstorming, sketching, ideation, designing 13-14 Lunch break
Focus on electronics prototyping in the afternoon 14-15 Individual work (with guidance by Michelle) 15-17 Recitation Catherine Euale 17-18 Individual work (with guidance by Michelle)
Thursday Focus on electronics with attiny/gemma and how to embed into design
10-15 Individual work (with guidance by Aslı) 15-17 Tutorial Emma 17-18 Individual work (with guidance by Aslı)
Friday Focus on embedding electronics into design
10-18 Individual work(with guidance by Michelle) At 18 Skin electronics party?!
Monday
10-18 Individual work
Tuesday
11-12 Show & tell
Assessment for this week:
Document the concept, sketches, references also to artistic and scientific publications
Design a “skin-circuit”, exploring the replication of the examples below or:
the Skin masquerade party project the Twinkle Nails project interactive tattoo explore how to create a new skin electronics accessory. Document the project and included all source files and all materials used
Upload your design files and source code
Make a video with your skin electronic working
Make a short performance/concept of your project functioning (extra credit)
For skin electronics the circuit should be a wearable placed on the skin (mask, hair, tattoo, patch, glove, nails) You should use a small microcontroller that can be hidden - such as ATtiny, gemma or other similar Your wearables should be powered by battery.
Q&A
Q: What are the primary functions of the skin?
A: The skin serves as a protective barrier against external elements, including pathogens and UV radiation. It also acts as an interface between the internal and external environment, providing a medium for expression and interaction.
Q: How does the skin contribute to our historical record?
A: Scars, wrinkles, and other features on the skin can serve as a historical record of a person's life, reflecting experiences, injuries, and the aging process. How does the condition of our skin change over time?
Q: What is the concept of skin electronics?
A: Skin electronics involve integrating electronic components with the skin, such as wearable technology and smart textiles. How can these technologies enhance our understanding of health and enable new forms of interaction?
Q: How does the intersection of beauty and technology manifest?
A: The intersection of beauty and technology explores incorporating technological advancements into beauty products, skincare, and cosmetic procedures. What are some examples of this convergence?
Q: What is the significance of gestures and the skin in human-computer interaction?
A: Gestures, expressed through facial expressions and body movements involving the skin, are crucial in human-computer interaction. How can technology interpret and respond to these gestures effectively?
Q: How do biosensors integrated into the skin contribute to health monitoring?
A: Biosensors on the skin can monitor body fluids for health-related data, offering real-time information on physiological processes. What are the potential applications and benefits of such biosensor technology?
Q: Can you explain the concept of physical affordance and interaction in the context of a project assignment?
A: Physical affordance and interaction in a project assignment refer to designing elements that guide users' interactions. How can the physical design of objects or interfaces enhance user engagement and usability?
Q: What is the significance of temporary tattoos like Duoskin and Gold Leaf Tats in the context of technology and expression?
A: Duoskin and Gold Leaf Tats are examples of temporary tattoos with embedded electronics, allowing for interactive and customizable interfaces on the skin. How do these technologies blend aesthetics with functionality?
FINAL OUTCOME¶
**THE THIRD ELF EYE CROWN**
During this week of electronics, I was fascinated by the idea of conducing. Your own energy is the energy of the world as the Earth is a giant battery during my research in the past months I’ve discovered that the term grounding means to be connected directly with the earths energy, and unfortunately using natural materials such as plastic shoes, we are disconnected from the earths energy almost every day so coming back to this week. I initially sound to the idea of making my shoes grounded and realised it’s quite a simple process which needs basic electronics knowledge and really dont need to involve more complex programming and microcontrollers.
So I decided to keep that thought for later and have fun with brutal design, collecting electronics crops and creating my own latex and alum elf crown mask I’ve been using everyone’s electrical scraps from class, and merged them with latex. Also also use some indigo branches and holographic paper.
For the electrical component, I chose a “Neopixel jewel 7” and programmed a combination of random colours, and placed it in the middle of my heart for head, covered it with hot glue and holographic foil to diffuse light and hide the neopixel
I also feel I kind of struggle incorporating electrical components tragically to the skin and found a really hard time, thinking solutions ideas of interactions with our own body and electronics. The closest I came was grounding energy, but as for the assignment of this week, I still decided to play with the concept of wearing electronica components, and conveyed it in a rather funny and mystical approach
**CODE FOR PROGRAMMING COLOR CHANGE**
**PROGRAMMING ATTIY45**
**ARDUINO UNO SETTINGS**
**FINAL DEBUGGING MOMENT**
Idea 01: Grounded Energy
DOWN TO EARTH - CLINT OBER
**The science of Earthing**
Since that time, 22 peer-reviewed research studies have been conducted showing the positive effects grounding has on the human body.
Recognizing that most people are unable to go back to living like their ancestors did (walking barefoot, sleeping on the ground, and being outside most of the day and night) Clint developed indoor grounding products to connect everyone back to the earth’s electrons.
Clint Ober has made it his mission to spread the message of grounding to everyone on earth. To date, he has grounded more than one million people.
**What is Grounding or Earthing?**
Grounding or ‘being grounded’ is about centring yourself back in the reality of your physical body in time and space. It’s about bringing your awareness back to the here and now – to the present moment by focusing on what is physically happening to your body. In this present moment all we have to do is be. In the present moment we don’t have to worry about the past or the future, only the now. And when we focus on the physical senses we can pull ourselves out of our busy minds and thought patterns into the more tangible physical world.
Grounding exercises bring the focus back to the present but also focus on literally reconnecting ourselves with the ground or Earth – to the floor beneath our feet – our connection to the stabilising energies of Mother Earth. This process of Earthing involves direct skin contact with the surface of the earth, which is brimming with natural energy and free electrons. When we consciously walk and connect with the ground we receive a beautiful little energy boost, complements of Mother Earth.
By centering and aligning oneself with the Earth’s energy, and allowing it to flow through the body, we can create a sense of stability, balance, and rootedness.
The Earth is like a gigantic battery that contains a natural, subtle electrical charge—a special kind of energy present in the ground. For safety and stability, most everything in the electrical world is connected to it, whether it is an electric power plant or your refrigerator. That’s what the term “grounded” means.
**Static Electricity**
Your shoe sole can play a significant role in the removal of electron build-up. Use a pair of shoes with a leather sole instead of a rubber sole. A leather sole connects with the ground and lets the electron flow through the body to the surface. On the other hand, the pair of shoes with a rubber sole lock electrons’ passage. This makes you likely to get a shock when you touch a conducting material.
Clothes produce Static ELECTRICTY https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-do-clothes-generate-static-electricity-6-ways-get-prowong-lace-/
EARTHING DIY SHOES
The Shoe Sync is an earthing shoe DIY (Do It Yourself) Kit comes with everything you need to turn your existing minimalist shoes into grounded footwear. With this easy to install kit and a hammer, anyone can transform their existing thin soled shoes (½” thick or less) into conductive footwear--to utilize the health promoting benefits of connecting with the Earth!
In this kit you will receive a combination of five different tools and conductive materials. The detailed documentation instructs you how to install a copper rivet through the optimal location in the sole of your shoes to make contact with your foot and the ground simultaneously.
Idea 02: Magic Music Soles
**1**
SONIC INSOLES FOR MAGIC SHOES
preassure sensors
These Sonic Insoles demonstrate a simple way of adding pressure sensors in your shoes. Fusing strips of conductive fabric to the surface of a robust base material such as felt. Cutting shapes of piezoresistive fabric for the pressure sensitive areas. Punching holes for sewing and using thick thread to hold everything together.
Fusing Curved Conductive Traces tretch conductive fabric is prepared with a fusible interface backing (iron-on glue) and then cut into straight strips. When ironing-on these strips to the base felt one can maneuver them while they are hot to create curved lines. No need to cut out curved shapes, which would cause a waste of fabric.
Pressure Sensitivity The conductive traces come close together in the sensitive areas where shapes of piezoresistive Eeonyx non-woven fabric laid over these traces. The closer together the traces are, the more sensitive this area will be to pressure – meaning less pressure will cause a greater decrease in resistance.
Tutorial : https://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=6927
**Fabric Preassure Sensor**
Idea 03: Energy Harvest Shirt
**CAPACITORS**
In just a few more iterations, this energy harvesting shirt could easily be used to power performance trackers and fitness wearable devices worn by athletes. And once it undergoes enough development to add to its capabilities, these energy harvesting shirts could potentially be worn by all of us as a means to harvest energy from all our everyday movements and sweating.
https://www.onio.com/article/energy-harvesting-shirt-wearables.html
Earth-ionosphere capacitor
Is the “Earth-ionosphere capacitor” a valid component in the atmospheric global electric circuit?
This paper examines whether the Earth-ionosphere capacitor (EIC) model is correct, by comparing observed atmospheric electrical properties with those expected for a spherical capacitor, as defined in electrostatics. The comparisons suggest that the EIC concept cannot be reconciled with, and hence cannot account for, the observations, particularly the rapid reduction of the atmospheric electric field with height that is measured. This means that the spherical EIC concept is incorrect by being too simplistic; it is thus misleading. The reason for this flawed concept is simple: the model disregards the non-uniform conductivity of the atmosphere which requires the presence of a net positive charge in the lower atmosphere that equals in magnitude the Earth's negative charge. This positive charge shields the action of the Earth's negative charge from polarizing the ionosphere positively. Thus, the lower D region ionosphere remains electrically neutral, which makes the EIC concept inappropriate.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364682617303711
© [2023] credit : ray