9. WEARABLES¶

.. in progress

Introduction: What Are Wearables?¶

Wearables are interactive objects or garments worn on the body that integrate technology, electronics, and textiles. They respond to the body or the environment and generate feedback through light, movement, heat, sound, or digital communication. Wearables extend the functionality of clothing—ranging from aesthetic effects to close-to-the-body interactions such as haptics or sensory feedback.

3 Main Categories of Wearables¶

Wearables can be broadly grouped into 3 functional areas:

Visual Wearables (Light-Based Outputs)

This category includes LEDs, neopixels, fiber optics, and thermochromic materials that create visual effects or cause patterns and colors to change.

Motion Wearables (Movement & Shape Change)

Motion is produced through actuators such as shape memory alloys (SMA), heating wires, or flip-dots, which bend, curl, fold, structure, or magnetically switch materials.

Haptic & Sonic Wearables (Touch & Sound)

These include vibrotactile motors, textile speakers, and other feedback systems that generate haptic sensations or sound directly on the body.

Assignment – Tasks for This Week¶

For this Wearables week, you will create a total of 3 swatches:

1. Two Actuator / Output Swatches¶

Each swatch should be intentionally designed to be worn on the body.

Examples include: - Neopixel swatch - SMA (Shape Memory Alloy) swatch - Thermochromic heat sample - Flip-dot module - Vibration motor swatch

Each swatch should be tested using the microcontroller of your choice.

2. One Swatch with Input & Output¶

This swatch must include one sensor (input) and one actuator (output) of your choice. It must be intentionally designed as a wearable piece that can be worn on the body.

Example combinations: - Stretch sensor → LED - Button → Vibration motor - Light sensor → Neopixel - Soft pressure sensor → SMA element

INSPIRATION & REFERENCES¶

JOANNE PETIT FRERE¶

Joanne Petit-Frère is a sculptor & conceptual artist whose work blends hair architecture, adornment, & diaspora traditions. She creates intricate braided structures & wearable sculptures that explore identity, ritual & form — often activated through performance.

Joanne Petit Frere

YING GAO¶

Ying Gao is a Montreal-based fashion designer & professor whose experimental work blends fashion, product design, & media technology. Exhibited internationally & featured in major publications like Vogue & The New York Times, her designs explore clothing as a responsive, transitional space shaped by social & urban environments.

Ying Gao instagram: livingpod

LISA JIANG¶

Fashion & Illustration

Lisa Jiang is a London-based fashion designer & illustrator specializing in wearable kinetics — fashion that integrates movement, structure, & dynamic form. She studied Fashion Design Womenswear at the renowned Central Saint Martins & has since been developing innovative concepts at the intersection of fashion, technology, & performance.

I met Lisa during my internship at Iris van Herpen in Amsterdam.

Instagram: Lisa Jiang www.lisajiang.co.uk

BEHNAZ FARAHI¶

Behnaz Farahi is an Iranian-American architect & designer known for her interactive wearable technologies. such as a 3D-printed garment that responds to the viewer’s gaze by opening & closing its surface — exploring the relationship between technology, perception, & the body.

Behnaz Farahi

ANOUK WIPPRECHT¶

Anouk Wipprecht is a Dutch FashionTech designer who merges fashion with robotics, sensors, & microcontrollers to create interactive “technological couture.” Her pieces move, react, & communicate with the environment, turning clothing into intelligent systems. Her Spider Dress is a key example, using sensors & robotic arms to protect personal space. She collaborates with companies such as Intel, Google, Microsoft, & Audi, & works internationally between the US & Amsterdam.

www.anoukwipprecht.nl instagram: anoukwipprechtt

WILLIAM DARRELL¶

William Darrell is a kinetic artist who creates mechanical sculptures inspired by organic life forms & cosmic phenomena.

instagram: williamdarrell Thangs: William Darrell

CASEY CURRAN¶

Casey Curran is an artist known for his intricate hand-powered kinetic sculptures that explore the hidden structures of nature & existence. His works animate delicate systems of flora & fauna, inviting viewers to activate & experience them. Combining ornate craftsmanship with precise mechanics, his sculptures reflect themes of pattern, chaos, & emergence.

Curran has also collaborated with Iris van Herpen, creating kinetic elements for her haute couture collections, where his mechanical artistry merges seamlessly with her experimental fashion design.

www.caseycurran.com Instagram: Casey Curran

IDEA & CONCEPT¶

Anemone Reef on the Chest OceanHeart / Heartreef

For this assignment, I envision creating an “Anemone Reef on the Chest”— an interactive, body-worn organism that gently moves & glows with a soft, pulsating light. Placed over the heart, it mirrors the quiet rhythms of the body: expanding, contracting, shimmering—almost breathing with you.

Sea anemones are animals disguised as flowers— organisms that blur the boundaries between motion & stillness, between instinct & aesthetics. By placing their gentle forms on the chest, this wearable explores the dialogue between human physiology & marine biology. The soft movement & pulsing light recreate the subtle behaviors of these creatures, turning the body into a host ecosystem where human & anemone rhythms intertwine.

This project ends where contradiction begins: the most organic forms recreated through the most artificial means. Placing this technological organism on the chest reveals how naturally we welcome technology into intimate spaces— even AI— when it moves, pulses, & behaves like something alive. It makes us question what “natural” really means when machines can echo the rhythms of life so convincingly.

//

In the end, the piece carries a quiet paradox: the attempt to recreate something profoundly organic through technology. The anemone—soft, breathing, alive—is embodied here through code, circuits, & artificial intelligence.

& yet, when worn close to the heart, it feels strangely natural, as if the boundary between organism & machine softens for a moment. It reminds us how readily we allow technology to come close to us— even closer than we ever expected— simply because it learns to imitate life so well.

entering a state of calm attention— as if you are sharing a quiet conversation with another "living" being, not through words, but through movement, rhythm, and presence. .....

THE MODEL¶

I generated the anemone forms partly from my own reference photos & partly from images that I processed & transformed into 3D models using Studio.Trip.

Afterwards, I imported these models into Rhino & created a negative mold, which I then 3D-printed in PLA using Cura as the slicer.

For the material, I initially chose silicone. Its texture & flexibility come very close to the natural qualities of sea anemones. The silicone I’m using is translucent to semi-transparent, which allows each element to be illuminated from within.

As for natural alternatives—such as alginate-based bioplastics—they unfortunately require long curing times & tend to shrink significantly during the drying process.

THE PLACEMENT¶

THE TECHNOLOGY¶

1. VISUALS¶

Light Design¶

For the visual component, I chose to use Neopixels because they allow precise, individual control through an Arduino. With them, I can trigger each light separately, create soft pulsations, &generate the exact color atmosphere I want.

This makes Neopixels ideal for mimicking the subtle, breathing glow of anemones.

I created the Arduino code for controlling the Neopixels with the help of ChatGPT, which allowed me to quickly develop &adapt the animations & light behaviors.

Technical Setup¶

For this wearable, I am programming a set of 10 Neopixels using the Arduino IDE / Seeed XIAO RP2040.

The lighting design is inspired by the original colors of real sea anemones: a soft, organic color palette based on beige, cream, rose, anthracite, & dove blue.

Pixels 1 to 5 each transition between 2 colors from this palette, creating gentle, pulsating animations in different rhythms.

Starting from Pixel 6, the sequence repeats (Pixel 1 = Pixel 6, Pixel 2 = Pixel 7 …), keeping the pattern balanced across the full set of LEDs.

example:¶

Pixel 1 fades gradually between cream & dove blue in a 3-second cycle, brightening & dimming in a soft pulse, followed by a short pause before the loop restarts.

This creates a calm, breathing light effect—echoing the slow, hypnotic movements of sea anemones.

SET UP¶

10 Neopixels on a Seeed XIAO RP2040, with:¶

10 LEDs
Pixels 1–5 each have their own color pair + speed
Pixels 6–10 repeat 1–5
Pixel 1 (& 6) = cream ↔ dove blue, 3-second pulsing cycle

All in a soft palette: beige, cream, rose, anthracite, dove blue You can paste this directly into the Arduino IDE.

Before upload:¶

Install Adafruit NeoPixel library
Set the correct LED_PIN to whatever pin your Neopixel data line is connected to.

COLOUR CODE¶

RAL - TREND REPORT 20206

Charly / CARLOS PÉREZ RAMÍREZ

Wiring Overview Table¶

Power & GND¶

#	From (Component & Pin)	To (Component & Pin)	Purpose / Note
1	Powerbank	XIAO RP2040: USB C	Supplies Power to XIAO
2	5V	Driver VM	voltage input (9V)
3	-	Driver GND	Shared ground with entire system
4	Battery	XIAO 9V	Shared ground with entire system

NeoPixels¶

#	From	To	Purpose
5	XIAO D0	NeoPixel Strip DIN	Data signal for all 10 NeoPixels
6	XIAO 5V	NeoPixel 5V	Power supply
7	XIAO GND	NeoPixel GND	Data signal reference

Button¶

#	From	To	Purpose
8	XIAO D2	Button +	Input pin for button (with INPUT_PULLUP enabled)
9	Button –	XIAO GND	Connects D2 to GND when pressed

Motor + Driver Bridge¶

#	From	To	Purpose
10	XIAO 6	Driver PWMA	PWM signal (controls motor speed)
11	XIAO D6	Driver STBY	Enables driver (HIGH = active)
12	Driver AO1	Motor +	Motor output
13	Driver AO2	Motor –	Motor output
14	Driver AIN1	XIAO D9	Motor direction / terminal 1
15	Driver AIN2	XIAO D10	Motor direction / terminal 2
16	Driver GND	System GND / XIAO GND	Common ground for stable operation
17	Driver VCC	XIAO 3.3 V	Logic voltage for clip

Toggle DC Motor with Button (Debounced) - XIAO RP2040 — TB6612FNG¶

Press button → Motor ON
Press button again → Motor OFF
Debounce included
Safe standby handling
PWM speed = 255 (full speed)

THE CODE |¶

/**
* Project: Motor Toggle Control (TB6612FNG + XIAO RP2040)
* Behaviour:
*  - On each button press -> toggle motor ON/OFF
*  - Uses INPUT_PULLUP (button to GND)
*  - Full speed (PWM = 255)
*
* Hardware:
*  - DC Motor on TB6612 Channel A
*  - TB6612FNG driver
*  - Seeed XIAO RP2040
*
* Wiring (Pins below):
*    PWMA = Motor PWM (speed)
*    AIN1/AIN2 = Motor direction
*    STBY = Enable TB6612
*    BUTTON = GND when pressed
*/

#define PWMA   D6
#define AIN1   D9
#define AIN2   D10
#define STBY   D7
#define BUTTON D2

// Button + motor state
bool motorOn = false;
bool lastButtonState = HIGH;       // Because of INPUT_PULLUP
unsigned long lastDebounceTime = 0;
const unsigned long debounceDelay = 50; // ms

void setup() {

  // Motor driver pins
  pinMode(PWMA, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(AIN1, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(AIN2, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(STBY, OUTPUT);

  // Button via INPUT_PULLUP (active LOW)
  pinMode(BUTTON, INPUT_PULLUP);

  // Enable TB6612FNG
  digitalWrite(STBY, HIGH);

  // Initial motor OFF
  updateMotor();
}

void loop() {

  bool reading = digitalRead(BUTTON);

  // Button changed? Start debounce window
  if (reading != lastButtonState) {
    lastDebounceTime = millis();
  }

  // After debounce delay, process a stable state
  if ((millis() - lastDebounceTime) > debounceDelay) {
    static bool stableButtonState = HIGH;

    // Only react to changes in STABLE state
    if (reading != stableButtonState) {
      stableButtonState = reading;

      // LOW = button pressed (INPUT_PULLUP)
      if (stableButtonState == LOW) {
        motorOn = !motorOn;  // toggle motor state
        updateMotor();
      }
    }
  }

  lastButtonState = reading;
}

/**
* Applies motor state:
* - ON: direction forward + max speed
* - OFF: PWM=0 (coast)
*/
void updateMotor() {
  if (motorOn) {
    digitalWrite(AIN1, HIGH);
    digitalWrite(AIN2, LOW);
    analogWrite(PWMA, 255);  // full speed
  } else {
    analogWrite(PWMA, 0);
  }
}

Wiring Guide¶

Component	Pin
XIAO D6 →	TB6612 PWMA
XIAO D9 →	TB6612 AIN1
XIAO D10 →	TB6612 AIN2
XIAO D7 →	TB6612 STBY
XIAO D2 →	Button → GND
XIAO 3V3 →	TB6612 VCC
XIAO GND →	TB6612 GND
Step-Down +	TB6612 VM
Step-Down –	GND (shared)
TB6612 A01 →	Motor +
TB6612 A02 →	Motor –

All grounds MUST be shared (XIAO GND ↔ TB6612 GND ↔ Power supply GND)