12. Skin Electronics¶

This week was all about getting closer to the body—literally.
We explored the concept of skin electronics, where circuits are no longer just attached to garments—they become part of the skin itself.
It’s a fascinating blend of fashion, biology, and tech—like tattoos that blink, flex, or sense your movement.

Skin electronics can be revolutionary, cool, and absolutely ground-breaking—but what makes them even more exciting is how functional they can be.

Hiding an NFC card within your skin or embedding a flexible circuit that acts as a wireless signal—communicating subtle cues from your body to a device.
They can be more than just aesthetic experiments—they’re systems that can enhance how we connect with the world, blending biology, fashion, and technology into something truly futuristic.

Inpsiration¶

One way to approach this assignment is by creating a subtle, camouflaged circuit—using materials like silver or gold leaf to blend the electronics beautifully with the skin.

But another, bolder route?
Is to make a statement out of the circuits themselves.
Forget hiding—highlight the hard wires and rigid components. As they say, keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
So why not embrace them? Look closely—they can be beautiful too.

One project that really inspired me was by Olivia Cueva Her approach was bold, wearable, and unapologetically loud. She ticked all the boxes for me—I love nails, I love a statement, and she delivered both through electronic design.
Her work pushed me to go all out and treat this week as a chance to experiment with power and playfulness.

The Ruby Bracelet¶

Now let’s get to work.
For this piece, I wanted to create a bracelet that felt like a ruby brought to life—but not in a polished, perfect gemstone way.
I was drawn to the chaotic energy of raw electronics: tangled wires, exposed connections, glowing signals pulsing from the body.

Think of it as a wearable glitch, or a digital gem with attitude.
This bracelet isn’t about hiding the tech—it's about celebrating the mess. Embracing the wires, the solder, the glow. Letting the electronic guts show and making them fashion.

The schematic was pretty straightforward—it’s a minimal circuit that just does what it needs to do, nothing more.
I focused on simplicity: one sensor, one LED, and just enough wiring to bring the bracelet to life.

This allowed me to keep the form lightweight and wearable, while still letting the electronic elements take center stage visually.

💡 Want a full explanation of how the Arduino IDE works, including how to install libraries and set everything up?
I’ve documented it all in detail during my previous weeks on wearables and e-textiles.
Check them out here:
🔗 Week 05 – E-Textiles
🔗 Week 09 – Wearables

Prototyping¶

I wanted to create a capacitive sensor to give my bracelet some bling and a little interactive feel.

I used the Adafruit Gemma M0 microcontroller, and a NeoPixel v2 LED as the output. For the sensor, you can actually use any metal piece—a ring, a strip, or even foil—to act as the capacitive touchpoint.

To make the connections clearer, I color-coded the schematic to better understand how everything connects.

Once I was happy with the sensor behavior and confirmed that everything worked well with the Arduino IDE, I moved on to assembly.

Capacitive Sensor with NeoPixel – Arduino Code¶

This code uses a capacitive touch sensor to control a NeoPixel LED.
When the sensor detects a value below a certain threshold (i.e., being touched or approached), the LED lights up in red. Otherwise, it remains off.

This setup is perfect for integrating interactive light into skin electronics or wearable installations.

#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>

// Pin connected to the NeoPixel
#define NEOPIXEL_PIN 1 // D1 pin for NeoPixel
#define NUMPIXELS 1    // Number of NeoPixels

// Pin connected to the capacitive touch sensor
#define SENSOR_PIN A1 // Sensor input pin

// Threshold value for sensor reading
#define SENSOR_THRESHOLD 50

// Initialize NeoPixel
Adafruit_NeoPixel pixels(NUMPIXELS, NEOPIXEL_PIN, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);

void setup() {
  // Initialize Serial for debugging
  Serial.begin(9600);

  // Initialize the NeoPixel
  pixels.begin();
  pixels.show(); // Turn off all pixels at the start

  // Set SENSOR_PIN as input
  pinMode(SENSOR_PIN, INPUT);

  Serial.println("Capacitive Sensor with NeoPixel Control Initialized");
}

void loop() {
  // Measure the sensor value
  int sensorValue = analogRead(SENSOR_PIN);

  // Print the sensor value to the Serial Monitor
  Serial.print("Sensor Value: ");
  Serial.println(sensorValue);

  // Check the sensor reading against the threshold
  if (sensorValue < SENSOR_THRESHOLD) {
    // Turn on the NeoPixel (e.g., red color)
    pixels.setPixelColor(0, pixels.Color(255, 0, 0)); // Red
    pixels.show();
    delay(1000);
  } else {
    // Turn off the NeoPixel
    pixels.setPixelColor(0, pixels.Color(0, 0, 0)); // Off
    pixels.show();
  }

  // Add a small delay for stability
  delay(100);
}

Prepping the Circut¶

Okay, now I wanted the circuit to look pretty—whatever that means!

So I began the soldering process, carefully attaching all the components and making sure each connection was secure and clean.
I soldered everything in place, aligning it with my bracelet design to keep it safe and neat!

Making the Capacitive Sensor¶

For the capacitive sensor, I got a five-cent coin and drilled a small hole into it to prepare for the wire connection.

Once ready, I soldered the wire directly onto the coin, then connected it to the rest of the circuit.
This coin became my touch-sensitive element Everything was then assembled and secured into place

The Bracelet¶

I laser cut a circle out of acrylic, which is easy and straight forward to hold everything together.

Laser Cutting Settings

Setting	Specification
Material Type	3mm Acrylic
Laser Power	80%
Cutting Speed	20 mm/s

Final Outcome¶

The Ruby Bracelet came to life—bold, messy, and interactive.
The capacitive coin sensor worked perfectly, and the NeoPixel gave it just the right touch of glow.
It’s not just wearable—it’s a little statement piece full of attitude.

Reflections¶

I was honestly so tired by the end of this week. I wasn’t aiming for clean or polished—because this time! And honestly? There’s nothing wrong with being a maximalist sometimes.

The circuit is chaotic. The wires are loud. Not everything needs to be soft or subtle.
Sometimes your work reflects exactly how you feel—wired, charged, and a little all over the place.

And that’s more than okay.

Fabrication Files¶

Bracelet DXF