5. E-Textiles

RESEARCH & IDEATION

Where do you start, when it all ends? “Wetiko” is the Algonquian term for “sickness of the spirit”, psychosis that influences perception, choices, and beliefs against our best interests while remaining undetected, oblivious to it’s madness. The ancients encoded their bodies with signals to protect within and amplify against this hypnosis, symbolic etchings interpreted through the wavering perception of it's observer, exposing what lies within.

Western hegemony has submitted everyone to it's Wetiko, unleashing deranged reversion as it comes to a close. However, the next frontier is here, lifting a range of critical concerns for what lies ahead, exposing what we sense if we cannot rely on what we see. I admit, I was weary for this week’s “E-Textiles” seminar. I enjoyed it more than I thought for its grounded interaction and direct application. Knowing the inner workings of electronics and the basics of engineering has taught me we don't have to fear what we cannot see if we know how it works.

REFERENCE & INSPIRATION

I was inspired by circut boards and mother boards. Commonly in cartoons, their associated with some sort of control or breakdown that can start/stop the world. I was equally inspired by belts as a right of passage in original communities. This connection with the protection of the womb alongside the stop/start of the world felt aligned communication.

A personal shout out to my NEW INC Y10 Cohort Mates in Creative Science, Victoria Manganiello and Nicole Yi of Craftworks. They were my first introduction to anything e-textiles related. They're an insanely cool, creative and intelligent duo whose ethical connections to their communities keep this space of creativity going!

TOOLS

⤷ Arduino UNO: Micon board

⤷ Arduino IDE : Programming environment

⤷ TinkerCad : 3D Circuit diagram

VOCABULARY

This is necessary as there are several terms used that have a range of meaning yet specific to the context we are speaking. Used are the active terms used within this project.

FULL LIST CAN BE FOUND ⤷ HERE

What We Know

E-Textiles: fabrics that integrate electronic components. It operates through conductive threads or fabrics powered by an energy source [ex:battery], signaling its connection by way of sensors and LEDS. When the sensors work, we know the energy source is connected to its conductive material. This creates senstivity by way of response to pressure, touch or movement.

What We Use : Relationship Being Built

Circut: a complete/closed loop. flow from a power source through various components back to source.

Types of Circuts:

    * Series: components are connected in a single path. the same current flows through all parts.

    * Parallel: components are connected in multiple paths. current flows through more than one route.

LED Circuit with Slits + Switch * leather belt with LED lights, activated by parallel circuts on a digital switch

Current: The flow/rate of electric charge, from positive to negative, through a circuit, measured in AMPS (A).

How We Build This Relationship

Conductive : the vessel. material [typically copper or silver] that allows electricity to flow.

Input: what comes in. Data or signals that enter a system, such as pressing a button to activate a sensor.

Output: what you see. Signals or actions produced by a system. In a circuit, controls indicate what we see.

VOLTAGE: Electrical pressure between 2 points, which drives current through a circuit.

Analog Soft Sensor Examples:

What We Do : Creation Process

Analog: a signal that indicates range, measuring light or sound in values [read in Ardino code]

Digital: a signal that indicates on or off, usually represented by 0 or 1

Sensor: sensitivity device that detects change in the environment, such as light or pressure, and sends signals based on those changes

Traces: the physical paths of conductive material that electricity moves along

Resistive: A material that controls the flow of electric current, measured in OHMS (Ω)

Switch: a break in a circuit. if the circuit is not complete, no electricity can flow

Leather Circut Board:

What We Avoid

Short Circuit: An unintended path that bypass components and goes back to the power source without creating connection, typically resulting in excess heat

Platforms

Arduino: open-source electronics platform for building interactive projects, combining hardware and software. Functions: Reusable blocks of code in programming that perform specific tasks or operations. Arduino has multiple functions like digitalWrite(pin, HIGH/LOW); We can also create our own functions.

Tools

Multimeter: used to measure electrical properties like voltage, current, and resistance in circuits. Variables: Named storage locations in programming that holds values which can be changed

Jumper Wire: A wire used to connect different parts of a circuit

CODE

void loop() {
// read the analog in value:
sensorValue = analogRead(analogInPin);
// map it to the range of the analog out:
outputValue = 255;//map(sensorValue, 0, 900, 100, 255);
// change the analog out value:
analogWrite(analogOutPin, outputValue);
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
  delay(500);                       // wait for a second
  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
  delay(200);                       // wait for a second
}