9. Wearables

Research

In textile design, "weable" typically refers to materials, structures, or components that are suitable for weaving. These can be fibers, threads, or other flexible elements that can interlace in a warp and weft pattern to form a fabric. For example, traditional fibers like cotton, wool, and silk are weable because they have the flexibility, durability, and strength to be woven on a loom. Modern weable materials might also include synthetic fibers like polyester or specialized conductive threads used in smart textiles and e-textiles, which can carry electrical signals and allow for interactive or responsive fabric designs.

References & Inspiration

Today's manufacturers understand the importance of meeting customer needs. In the textile and fashion industries, success often comes from adding advanced technology into fabrics. This has led to the rise of "smart clothes." Unlike regular wearable devices, these clothes look normal but have built-in technology. smart clothes

Process and workflow

By using VISUAL ACTUATOR

In the fifth week of the course, I focused on experimenting with various circuits and components to understand their functions and interactions. This hands-on process helped me learn how the components behave, test their compatibility, and fine-tune configurations for better performance. These explorations laid a solid foundation for designing my envisioned wearable device and ensured I could integrate the components effectively into my final project.

XIAO ESP32-C3

The XIAO ESP32-C3 is a tiny, powerful board that combines Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It uses a fast RISC-V processor and is perfect for small projects like wearables and smart devices.

1. Materials Needed

XIAO ESP32-C3 : The main microcontroller for your wearable project.

Neopixels: for lighting effects in wearables

Jumper wires: To connect the components.

Battery pack: To power the Flora board when worn.

Potentiometer: for adjusting opixels brightness,

2. Setting Up the Circuit

After successfully making the connections and uploading the code to the Xiao ESP32-C3, I decided to test the circuit using a 5V battery. I carefully connected the battery to ensure proper polarity and functionality, knowing that the Xiao board can handle 5V through its VIN pin. At first, I was nervous about whether the battery would work correctly and deliver consistent power to the circuit

Code

Potentiometer and opixels

// Pin Definitions
#define LED_PIN 2            // Pin for LED
#define POT_PIN A0           // Analog pin for potentiometer

int delayTime = 0;           // Variable to store delay time

void setup() {
  pinMode(LED_PIN, OUTPUT);  // Set LED pin as output
  pinMode(POT_PIN, INPUT);   // Set potentiometer pin as input
  Serial.begin(9600);        // Initialize serial monitor for debugging
}

void loop() {
  // Read potentiometer value (0-1023)
  int potValue = analogRead(POT_PIN);  

  // Map potentiometer value to a usable delay range (e.g., 500ms to 15,000ms)
  delayTime = map(potValue, 0, 1023, 500, 15000);  

  // Debugging: Print the delay time to the Serial Monitor
  Serial.print("Delay Time: ");
  Serial.println(delayTime);

  // Blink the LED
  digitalWrite(LED_PIN, HIGH);  // Turn LED ON
  delay(delayTime);             // Wait for the mapped delay time
  digitalWrite(LED_PIN, LOW);   // Turn LED OFF
  delay(delayTime);             // Wait for the mapped delay time
}

textile speaker

A textile speaker operates by transforming electrical energy into sound waves through the interaction of three essential components: a permanent magnet, an electromagnet (coiled wire), and a vibrating membrane. This process relies on the principles of electromagnetism. When an electric current passes through the coiled wire, it generates a magnetic field, which becomes stronger due to the coiling. The electromagnet is connected to a circuit powered by a battery and an audio signal, where the audio signal's varying electrical frequencies cause the magnetic field of the coil to fluctuate. Placed near a permanent magnet, these fluctuations generate forces of attraction and repulsion between the two magnetic fields. This interaction causes the membrane—integrated into the textile structure—to vibrate. The vibrating membrane moves the surrounding air, creating sound waves that reproduce the original audio signal. By incorporating these components into flexible, fabric-based systems, textile speakers offer innovative opportunities for embedding sound within wearable and soft surfaces.

Key Components

1. Conductive Yarn or Fabric

2. Electromagnet (Coil of Wire)

3. Permanent Magnet

4. Power Source

5. Audio Signal Source

6. Textile Layer

7. Microcontroller

Steps

1. Design the Coil

2. Attach the Permanent Magnet

3. Power the Coil

4. Integrate the Vibrating Membrane

5. Test with an Audio Signal

Results

Video

From Vimeo

Sound Waves from George Gally (Radarboy) on Vimeo.

From Youtube

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Fabrication files

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1. File: xxx ↩

2. File: xxx ↩