9. Wearables¶

Research¶

I am interested in using applications from the wearable assignment to solve a very real problem for me around visability when I am walking and running in the evenings. Most of the products available are designed for male bodies and focus on creating reflective surevaches. I am interested in integrating LEDs and incorporating traffic signage into the design. My research included the following links:

References & Inspiration¶

This week I relied heavily on the following resources:

Kate Hartman's book MAKE: Wearable Electronics
Liza Stark's Computational Craft course
Darcy Neal and Francesca Frattolini's DIY Soft Speakers at the CETI Enchanted Technology E-Textiles Festival

I also had amazing assitance this week from former student and interactive sculptor Genevieve Hildebrand-Chupp

Tools¶

Fabrics: Black duvetyne, silk habotai,heat transfer vinyl, polyester batting
Adafruit Circuit Playground Express
Conductive Thread
Sewable and pin LEDs
Batteries: 9 volt and 3 x AA Battery pack
Arduino IDE

Process and workflow¶

LED Actuator¶

Below is the code for the blink sequence that plan to use for my wearable:

// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
void setup() {
  // initialize digital pin LED_BUILTIN as an output.
  pinMode(A4, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(A4, OUTPUT);
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
  digitalWrite(A4, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
  delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
  digitalWrite(A4, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
  delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
    digitalWrite(A3, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
  delay(50);                      // wait for a .05 second
  digitalWrite(A3, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
  delay(50);                      // wait for a .05 second
}

This is a video of the bendable sensor I tried to create for the LED actuator. My ultimate goal is to create a switch were the lights are triggered when the sensor is in the straight/extended position. So far it is only operating as a pressure sensor.

Speaker Actuator¶

The stitched speakers were created using conductive thead in the bobbin. The silk habaotai speaker was stretched using an embroidery hoop in order to withstand the thickness of the conductive thread.

The spiral speaker ¹ was created using Inkscspae and laser cut our of adhesive backed copper tape on Xtool vinyl cutter.

Below is the code used for the speaker test:

// Define the pin where the buzzer is connected const int buzzerPin = 6; // Change this number according to your pin

void setup() { // Initialize the buzzer pin as an output pinMode(buzzerPin, OUTPUT); }

void loop() { // Simple melody tone(buzzerPin, 262, 500); // Note C (262 Hz) for 500 ms delay(500); tone(buzzerPin, 294, 500); // Note D (294 Hz) for 500 ms delay(500); tone(buzzerPin, 330, 500); // Note E (330 Hz) for 500 ms delay(500); tone(buzzerPin, 349, 500); // Note F (349 Hz) for 500 ms delay(500); noTone(buzzerPin); // Turn off the buzzer delay(1000); // Wait for 1 second before repeating }

Unfortunatley we were not able to get the speakers to work. We tried a variety of codes, transistors, and magnets. Below are video links to our tests:

Haptic Actuator¶

After spending most of the day trying to get the speaker to work, we pivoted to the haptic acutator hoping for a win. Below is a video of our test and our buzzing be swatch that we created.

Wearable Project¶

For the wearable project I am hoping to build on what I created below for the light up glove, using a stop sigh for the hand.

Below are files and vinyl cut signage that I have prepped for my wearables. I am waiting for some new LEDs and reflective fabrics to arrive, but I will post pictures when they are complete.