Project Proposal: Gaming Night
Project Concept
The inspiration for this project comes from my friends and our biweekly meetings via zoom to stay connected and play various games. Most of the games that we play require either a dice or a timer and it’s usually a burden to look for these objects. This is why I decided to make a sweater that will have a built-in dice and timer located in the forearm so it’s viewable to the user.
The results of the dice and timer will be displayed in a seven segment display. To show results for the dice the user will have to shake their arm. To start the timer they will have to press a button.
Check out the final project in the link below:
Objective
Throughout the semester I really enjoyed working with LEDs and the CPX itself as an output. Nonetheless, I wanted to challenge myself with this Open Project and I decided to use a segment display, which I have never used before. My goal was to learn a little bit more in depth how coding and physical computer works, and how that can translate to a wearable project.
I also wanted to make something useful and fun that will help me connect with my friends and share with them my new found passion for electronics and wearables!
Parts List
1x Adafruit 7-segment LED backpack
1x Circuit Playground Express
4x male/female jumper wires (preferred)
Piece of felt
Conductive thread
Non-conductive thread
Needle
Silicone gun and glue
Soldering wire and iron
Alligator clips
USB cable
Yarn
Crochet hook
Progress
The Adafruit 7-segment display requires soldering. So, the first thing that I did was to learn how to solder. Here’s a quick video of how I did it:
After that step, I connected my display into a breadboard so I could test it. I had to download the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express and the Adafruit LED backpack segment display libraries into the Arduino IDE. This helped me gain to different examples on how to use the display. I also used this schematic for reference:
After a lot of research I was able to find some resources that helped me with the code. I had to make use of different examples from the library such as the hello accelerometer and hello sound. After a few trials and errors, here’s the final code:
This is my first time using the Arduino IDE for the CPX and I’m also a beginner in Arduino. Here’s a quick video of some of the trials:
After getting it to work in the breadboard, it was time to sew it in a piece of felt. To connect the segment display to the conductive thread I used a male / male wire that I had to strip to sew it together. Ideally this would have been better with a male / female wire.
The circuit looked like this:
To cover the circuit I decided to start crocheting. Once I finished I sewed the felt to the crochet and I opened a hole for the display. I later attached the crochet to the sweater.
Finally I added the designs!
Initial sketches
Originally I wanted to add a necklace for the timer but I realized that the segment display will work just as good for it. I also wanted to have the micro controller in the forearm so it will allow the user to shake their arm to roll the dice. This gesture was important to me since when you have a physical dice you shake them first. I wanted to simulate that experience, and that’s why I decided to change the location of CPX.
Final Sketch
I decided to also add sound everytime the user rolls the dice since I was having trouble in the trials figuring out if it did roll or not.
Circuit Diagram
Final
Reflection
Overall, the project was really fun to make. The sweater felt comfortable and light and I was able to enjoy it with my friends. Here’s a picture of our game night:
To make this sweater better I would try to crochet the hole already so I don’t have to cut through it. I would also make it bigger and I would love to use velcro so its size becomes adjustable and the circuit is removable, making the sweater washable.
I wanted to incorporate a battery but unfortunately Creatron was closed due to lockdown and I wasn’t able to get the battery on time. Nonetheless, since all of my meetings are online I had no trouble connecting it to the computer and it never bothered me during my games.
I would love to keep exploring how to code in Arduino and keep making wearables!
References
Adafruit LED Backpacks Assembly. (2012, July 29). Adafruit Learning System. https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-led-backpack/0-dot-56-seven-segment-backpack-assembly
Arduino Setup. (2012, July 29). Adafruit Learning System. https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-led-backpack/0-dot-56-seven-segment-backpack-arduino-setup
Circuit Playground D6 Dice. (2016, December 16). Adafruit Learning System. https://learn.adafruit.com/circuit-playground-d6-dice/random-or-not
Dungeons and Dragons Dice Gauntlet – learn.sparkfun.com. (2019). Sparkfun. https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/dungeons-and-dragons-dice-gauntlet
ESP32: How to Setup Adafruit 7 Segment LED Display w/I2C Backpack. (2020, April 18). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESo_gSL9Fr4
Fidget Spinner Tachometer. (2017, July 8). Adafruit Learning System. https://learn.adafruit.com/fidget-spinner-tachometer/hardware
Interfacing a 4-Digit 7-Segment Display. (2019). Arduino Project Hub. https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/Tr3v3n_Jaganath/interfacing-a-4-digit-7-segment-display-8506ca