Category: 1. Blinkorama

Project Overview

“To Do List” is a wearable glove that uses the on-board lights of the Adafruit Circuit Playground to create a checklist. The project uses tape to indicate the order of the list as well as the details of the list.

Interactions/ Controls
There are various interactions on the project. The user can switch between the LED by pressing either of the buttons on the Circuit Playground. Button #4 goes clockwise while button # 19 goes counterclockwise. When a pixel is selected, it will blink once to indicate that its state can be altered (Red for False, Green for True). The state of the pixel is altered by touching the tip of the index finger and the thumb. When all the pixels are true, the neopixels will run a “Rainbow chaser” sequence to celebrate completion.

Videos
–Video 1
–Video 2

Fritzing Schematics

Code
-Here is the link to the code on github

Important pieces of the code:
– Everytime the on-board buttons are pressed it will either increment or decrement a variable called “lightCounter”. The light counter variable changes which neopixel is being referred to
– There is a Boolean Array called “lightState” that holds the states of the pixels, if the state is true, the pixel turns green. If it is false, the pixel turns red.
-An if function counts how many of the Bools in the “lightState” array are set to true, if 10 or more are true, the rainbow sequence* is run.

* The Rainbow chaser sequence is adapted from Neopixel rainbow code adapted from “Rainbow Chaser” by Carter Nelson
https://learn.adafruit.com/circuit-playground-bike-light/the-rainbow-chaser
** The Debounce is adapted from the Arduino tutorialshttps://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/BuiltInExamples/Debounce

Project Inspiration
The project is inspired by shopping lists and checklists. I’m forgetful and checklists are always handy, but I don’t like taking out my phone when my hands are already full carrying the shopping basket. So, I thought of a wearable checklist.

Process: Glove
The glove was handmade out of Black Spandex. I used tape as an overlay to the glove as the black ink of pen/ pencil wasn’t visible on the fabric

Process: Electronics
The electronics were a lot simpler. I created a pullup switch using conductive fabric, conductive thread, and a 10k Resistor. All the other interactions were created using the on-board-neopixels and the on-board buttons.

Part List
Adafruit Circuit Playground Classic
Conductive Fabric
Conductive Thread
Black Spandex
Painter’s Tape
Micro USB Cable
Power Bank

Things I Learned/ Going Forward:
Sewing is difficult, and cutting fabrics is a lot of work. On that same note, always cut the fabric larger than you want, as the wearable becomes smaller/ loses material after it is properly sewn
I would have liked to use an RGB LED Stick for the project as it would have made a more cohesive list. However, I realised that I did not have access to a soldering kit at the moment and so opted out of that.
I would like to make the appearance of the list more aesthetically pleasing, through embroidering for the individual numbers on the palm. I would have no idea how to make the written list, I’m super open to suggestions (At the moment I’m thinking of tabs so that they switch can be altered)

Project description

I created an electric face mask/covering that lights up in 3 different colors and behaviors depending on how properly the mask is being worn. It displays a different colour if someone is wearing a mask properly, improperly, or not at all. It uses the built in Neopixel LEDs of the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express to light up in flashing red when the mask is not on at all, flashing yellow when it is not covering the user’s nose, and flat blue when worn correctly. The mask is made up of 2 masks actually, one that goes underneath and is the “under mask” which contains the microcontroller and LEDs, and the “over mask” that represents a typical mask you would put on, and the way it is worn determines the behavior of the Neopixels on the undermask. The overmask diffuses the light of the Neopixel LEDs underneath, making the lights visible but not blinding or overly distracting. 

I used alligator clips, nylon conductive fabric, and simple masking tape to construct the electric mask. The way it works is the undermask has the microcontroller attached to the front of it, just underneath a sheet of nylon fabric placed on the upper part of the mask, and the sheet connected to the ground pin via an alligator clip. On the overmask, there are 2 pieces of Nylon strips that both act as their own switches: one attached to the top portion of the inside of the mask, and one slightly larger, attached to the middle portion of the inside of the mask. Both strips are connected to pins A5 and A6 on the microcontroller via alligator clips. 

I programmed the code on the CPX to flash red when neither strips on the uppermask are touching ground (lowermask nylon), yellow when only the top strip is touching ground, and blue when both the upper and middle strips are touching ground. This way, when the mask is off it’s red, when the mask is on but only below the nose it’s yellow, and when it’s fully covering the nose + mouth it’s blue. Having an undermask + overmask setup allows me to demonstrate a mask touching someone’s face without actually needing to attach conductive material and tape to my skin. The setup could also be interpreted as a double mask, which can display how well you’re wearing it. 

Final photos:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FEMckffeM29IRM7mLe4EF3WjzDeQkFaTvx2bjBxKIL8/edit?usp=sharing SEE DOCUMENT FOR PHOTOS

Video: 

https://youtu.be/KzF3bdLTXUE

Was recorded before I implemented blinking during the red and yellow states, but still functions exactly as intended. Final product looks exactly like this except red and yellow states blink on and off. 

Project context:

My motivation for this project was noticing that people in public often don’t cover their noise with their mask, if they’re courteous enough to wear one at all (especially in the fast food business). The study below shows how not covering your nose with your mask just totally defeats the purpose of wearing a mask at all, and proves that a device like the one I created, which can detect how well a mask is being worn, would be practically useful and relevant today.

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/leaving-your-nose-uncovered-defeats-the-purpose-of-wearing-a-mask/2412189/ 

Circuit Diagram: 

Currently pending, having troubles accessing fritzing. 

List of parts: 

Alligator clips 1528-1789-ND Digikey

Nylon fabric 1528-4762-ND Digikey 

Circuit Playground Express ID 3333, Adafruit Industries

Github link:

https://github.com/dayethan14/WearablesCode/blob/57ac1fed0df9d2589a46d3f06cfe174565004d86/blinkorama.ino 

Process notes/photos:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FEMckffeM29IRM7mLe4EF3WjzDeQkFaTvx2bjBxKIL8/edit?usp=sharing  SEE DOCUMENT FOR PHOTOS

The first thing I did to get started was testing out programming the colours of the Neopixels on the CPX. I made sure I had each colour right by messing with the RGB inputs.

I initially thought of using green instead of blue for the “good” state, but then realized that green and yellow looked to similar from far away or under a diffuser. With my overmask being a diffuser, I went with blue.

Had trouble trying to get the bottom switch to touch the ground fabric, kept barely being too in-front of it instead of touching together during use. Had to keep adding material underneath the bottom switch fabric to push it forward more allowing it to make contact with the conductive fabric connected to ground.

Decided to add blinking to the different colors/states. With blue not blinking at all to signify that it’s correct and give off a calming mood, opposite of the red/yellow states conveying urgency by blinking at a moderate speed and being colors that typically mean danger or warning on signs and lights. 

As somebody who’s primary mode of transformation is biking, I often find myself concerned with safety while riding at night. While traditional hand turns are useful, the dark can pose new problems. While drivers can easily communicate intentions with each other through turn signals I feel as if bikers could benefit from having that same ability and so for this project decided to build just that. Using an array of LED’s  mounted on the back of the hand and buttons made of conductive fabric on various fingers, this glove allows a biker to communicate with others sharing the road through simple gestures. The glove’s index and middle fingers have pads of conductive fabric that, when in contact is made with the thumb’s contact which is outputting a current, display either a left or right facing flashing arrow to convey intent to turn. A fourth pad of conductive fabric is present on the pinky which acts as a toggle button. All of the buttons are placed so that accidental triggers are difficult to make and fingers must be bent in a way that a user would be unlikely to do under normal circumstances while riding a bike, specifically the pinky hazard trigger seeing as an accidental touch would keep the lights blinking until they’re triggered off again. When activated, the glove displays a hazard light for when the user needs to make a stop or simply wishes to be more visible. The hazard lights can be turned off by a second tap of the finger unlike the turn signals which must be held throughout the turn. By holding out your arm and displaying your hand to anyone behind you, the glove is meant to give biker’s the ability to communicate with cars in their language.

Light Modes

Hazards (pinky toggle):

Left turn (middle finger activated):

Right turn (index finger activated):

LED’s off:

You can watch a quick video of the glove working here:

https://youtu.be/9rwC07fZ6x4

(This video is set to unlisted so you should be able to access it with this link. If for whatever reason it doesn’t work for you, please shoot me a message!)

Parts List

All parts used in this project have been accumulated throughout the years through various retailers (Alibaba, Creatron, Amazon etc.) and so as a result most of the listings either no longer exist or I’ve forgotten where they came from. I’ve linked the closest equivalents I could find on Amazon.

1) White LEDs

Qty:12

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B013U338OI/

2) prototyping boards (14 x 20 through-holes)

Qty:2

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07MTBNX8F/

*NOTE:THIS LISTING HAS OTHER ASSORTED SIZES*

3)Generic 22 AWG Wire (with generic solder/iron)

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B089D29FHC/

4)PCB Solder Cable-assorted lengths

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07PQKNQ22/

5)5.6k Resistors

Qty:3

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0753HGMFH/

*NOTE:THIS LISTING HAS OTHER ASSORTED VALUES*

6)Conductive Fabric

Area: approximately 4cm^2 needed

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00OKCOUX2/

7)Knit gloves

Qty:1

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0055Q4FS2/

Circuit Diagram & Code

The code for this project uses relatively simple logic and so I was luckily able to complete it without reference to other projects or examples. My code can be found here: https://github.com/samkkingston/Blink-o-Rama/blob/main/Blink-o-Rama_Sam_Kingston_.ino

Process & Background

At the moment, I’m unfortunately still waiting on my conductive fabric and thread to be delivered. For this reason, I was forced to use wire in place of conductive thread. Fortunately, I had enough conductive fabric for the buttons but not with much leftover. While using wire wasn’t ideal. The mounting point on the back of the hand doesn’t experience much movement/flex as the hand is bent. This worked out in my favour because the higher physical resistance caused by wires isn’t felt as much as it may be in other projects. While testing my first version on Thursday which was mounted only on fabric without perf board, I accidentally turned up my benchtop power supply too high and fried my LEDs. The soldering of that first version had to be done very carefully and took quite a few hours and so I knew that I wouldn’t have enough time to redo it in the same way (devastating!). I had built it in a way that made it very difficult to replace only the LED’s, and this is unfortunately why I couldn’t present it in class. In order to get it done on time, I opted to use perf board to mount my electronics. Instead of using one large piece of board, I decided to split the design in half to allow for some bend as the hand moves. The two boards are bridged by wire which acts as a hinge at the same time as it connects the circuits electrically. The perf board was soldered, and I clipped the solder points on the back to remove any sharp ends and covered it in a layer of plush material. Just like the hinge wires serves two purposes, this plush layer kept everything comfortable while electrically insulating the circuit which allowed me to mount the micro-controller behind it. Wires can then easily be connected both to the perf board and through a hole in the back of the glove to the buttons. The glove I used has an inner lining and so the wires could be routed between the outer and inner layer as to not get in the way as the glove is put on. The wire I used is stranded and coated in an elastic insulator making it extremely flexible, preventing the wearer from being able to tell that they’re there. While this technique worked out, had the conductive thread arrived in time it would have undoubtedly been a better way to transfer signals between the micro-controller and the conductive pads. I’ve attached some images below to reveal the inner workings of the LED unit. The arrows are individually wired in parallel with a third group being the horizontal line of the arrow-this line is shared by both the left and right turn functions. Finally, all of the LED’s share one ground connection. This means three positive signals and one ground signal to control all of the light settings (not including the wires connected to the finger triggers).

Other than the one big setback of having to remake my original circuit, this project was a blast and I’m loving all of the other projects I’m seeing. Thanks for reading!

Anjali Lights is a wearable tech project featuring crocheted, fingerless gloves with embed LEDs that activate upon the formation of Anjali Mudra – a Hindu hand gesture in which one’s hands are pressed together into the prayer position. Anjali Mudra holds a multitude of significance in Indian culture as a frequent feature in daily and spiritual activities. Generally speaking, the gesture symbolizes respect, acknowledgement, and gratitude. However beyond this, Anjali Mudra’s implementation in spiritual practices, most specifically yoga, is a powerful and grounding form that serves to complete the body’s circuit.

Anjali Light’s endeavours to demonstrate such a phenomenon both literally and spiritually. In the literal sense, the central circuit of the project is also completed upon entering the prayer position. When the strips of conductive nylon tape connect via the pressing of palms, the LEDs are activated. Such an effect manifests as a soft glow, delicately washing over exposed fingers in calm and life like oscillation. In this way, the lights take on a spiritual quality by simulating a raw materialization of energy. Suspending one’s disbelief, the lights become an extension of the human aura – a glimpse of magic to be observed.

Gloves in action: https://youtu.be/Xqda5XhHNlI

Electronics Parts List:

• Fairy Lights in Warm White
• Conductive Yarn
• Arduino
• Conductive Nylon Tape

Circuit:

Code:

https://github.com/kahaniploessl/Anjali-Lights

Other Projects:

https://yourmindyourworld.com/product/led-rave-gloves/

I really love the aesthetic quality of the fiber optics demonstrated in these gloves. I can imagine this technique adapted into something high fashion.

https://www.ktvmalls.com/products/rotating-laser-gloves?variant=39551144427622

These gloves by KTV Lights feature lasers on a rotating panel, creating a colourful and fun light show. What I like particularly about these gloves is how they manifest light as a body to manipulate and play around with. I get a bit of an aurora vibe off of it as well, albeit on steroids.

Final Thoughts:

I’m really happy with how my gloves developed, especially with it being my first  wearable piece. Lately I’ve been taking more inspiration from my Hindu background, so I really love my concept and how it seamlessly harmonized circuitry with hinduism. Some ideas I have for taking the project further include: adding more lights to emphasize the effect, making the gloves able to temporarily hold a small amount of charge when apart, and having multiple gloves that allow the lights to be activated between a group of people.

Project title: Social Un-distancing

Members: Ellie HUANG, Nooshin MOHTASHAMI

Project Description: 

This project stems from series of discussion derived from us entering the  post-Covid period. During the global pandemic, we are gradually getting used to avoiding physical contact and being increasingly reluctant to step out of our safe distance. While this self-isolation becomes a norm and psychological issues like depression starts to raise significantly emerging from this kind of state, we oftentimes forget about the intrinsic value of social interactions and its significance to us as human beings.

We want to create a social un-distancing reminder which encourages people to make more contacts with fellow humans, and emphasize on the amount of joy and energy we could actually receive from these communications.

This piece of wearable is a pocket light indicator attached to any part of clothing and on the other end connected to a glove. It could be interpreted as an energy reservoir. The way it works is with 10 Neopixels on the board, it invites people to make contact with others by lighting up the Neopixels into red. If within a certain amount of time (currently 5 secs for demonstration purpose) the glove has not being touched anyone else, the red Neopixels will de-color into purple. With a similar gap of time that the glove is not being touched, the Neopixels gradually becomes yellow and then off. However, if within the whole range a next person has been in contact with the wearer, a next Neopixels will be light up into red, indicating another gained energy point. Within full Neopixels being activated, the wearable will blink with a smily face with a piece of joyous music to indicate the completeness of today’s mission of getting in touch with x number of people.

For real life usage, this piece of wearable could be programmed into customizable system that wearer would be able to adjust the total amount of people they want to interact with in a day (set a target number of Neopixels) and the cool off time (e.g. 30 minutes for one degree de-coloring).

Final photos:

Parts list:

1. Adafruit Circuit Playground express
2. Conductive thread
3. Conductive fabric
4. Gloves
5. Felt
6. Connection wires
7. Power bank and USB cord

Circuit Diagram:

Github Code: 

https://github.com/n00shinm/SocialUndistancing/blob/main/blinkorama.ino 

Project Context:

According to a longitudinal analysis of the COVID-19 Social Study published on Psychological medicine, the inter-relationship between social contact and depression is closely examined “People who were usually more sociable or had higher empathy had more depressive symptoms during enforced reduced contact”(Sommerlad,2021). The result implicated our potential future pandemic actions and the relationship between social factors and mental health.

With technical advances, we would like to create a piece of wearable that nudges users to re-initiate social interactions. Many emerging technologies are enabling individuals to self-manage and to integrate myriad forms of help and support. Currently, there are already numerous products on the consumer markets that could intake full body feedback and output with visual information. For our project, we wanted to create a device that could be rapidly prototyped and enable users in a similar powerful fashion. 

One of the projects that was a great inspiration for our work is The Emotional Clothing collection, which was Węglińska’s doctoral dissertation at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. This project is designed to broaden the experience of clothing and extend fashion vocabulary. Węglińska’s garments react to the wearer’s heart rate, temperature and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) via sensors, which in turn trigger light changes. Via information gathered from sensors attached to the wearer’s fingers, lights change according to the beat of the wearer’s heart at the sides of the top flash. Since stress usually causes a rise in temperature and a faster heartbeat, this collection of garments output the inner feeling of the users. 

Another project working along a similar line is Halo, which is a networked clothing that each garment has its own microcontroller and light panel. Individual units are able to receive rhythm input from the parent unit with serial and infrared receivers. Thus, one Halo can interact with other Halos and create dynamic visual patterns using this interactivity. In addition to networked interaction, users can provide real-time input for Halo and alter its visual patterns. The emotions can be converted into unique visual statements.

Both two projects incorporate the elements of light and wearable technologies. The visualization of light effects and alterations are both tied with emotions and inner feelings of the users. For the Halo project, users wearing the garment have the active control of altering rendered effects, which provides incentive for users to make actions. This interactivity was also replicated into our project of allowing users to be incentivized of their action choices and be informed with the visual outcomes.

Some other references we have looked at include smaller projects from the adafruit forum: Heart Rate Badge(https://learn.adafruit.com/heart-rate-badge), Circuit Playground Wearable(https://learn.adafruit.com/circuit-playground-wearable), Chatty Light-Up Circuit Playground Express Mask(https://learn.adafruit.com/chatty-light-up-cpx-mask). These projects greatly informed us in diverse ways about modes of fabrication and material choices. In constructing our wearable pieces, we have experimented with different formats of physical containers for the Adafruit Playground. From one of the above sources – Circuit Playground Wearable, we referenced their 3D printing models and tested them as one of our design iterations. Despite not taking the watch format as our final rendering, we have enhanced our proficiency via those trials and errors.

Progress Photos/iterations:

Next Step:

For real life applications, we would love to enhance the customizability of this wearable piece. Users would be able to extend the time of cooling down accordingly. The program could further be enhanced by allowing the users to input their ideal number of interactions in a day, thus people who are more introverted do not need to meet a high goal set for extrovert people. For future development, this wearable could be better integrated into the whole piece of garment with minimal visibility – aligning with principles of calm technology.

References:

• Ada, L., 2017. Adafruit Circuit Playground Express. [online] Adafruit Learning System. Available at: <https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-circuit-playground-express>
• Brothers, R., 2016. Circuit Playground Wearable. [online] Adafruit Learning System. Available at: <https://learn.adafruit.com/circuit-playground-wearable>
• Ceceri, K., 2020. Chatty Light-Up Circuit Playground Express Mask. [online] Adafruit Learning System. Available at: <https://learn.adafruit.com/chatty-light-up-cpx-mask>
• Couto, R., 2019. Songs for Arduino – Dragão sem Chama. [online] Dragão sem Chama. Available at: <https://dragaosemchama.com/en/2019/02/songs-for-arduino/>
• Fancourt, D., Steptoe, A., & Bu, F., 2020. Trajectories of anxiety and depressive symptoms during enforced isolation due to COVID-19 in England: a longitudinal observational study. Lancet Psychiatry, S2215-0366(20)30482-X.
• Mura, G., 2008. WEARABLE TECHNOLOGIES FOR EMOTION COMMUNICATION. [online] Academia.edu. Available at: <https://www.academia.edu/849549/WEARABLE_TECHNOLOGIES_FOR_EMOTION_COMMUNICATION>
• Stern, B., 2013. Heart Rate Badge. [online] Adafruit Learning System. Available at: <https://learn.adafruit.com/heart-rate-badge>
• Zhang, Y., 2020. Flower Wheel – Spring Show 2020. [online] Itp.nyu.edu. Available at: <https://itp.nyu.edu/shows/spring2020/flower-wheel/>
• Sommerlad, Andrew, et al. “Social Relationships and Depression during the COVID-19 Lockdown: Longitudinal Analysis of the COVID-19 Social Study.” Psychological Medicine, 2021, pp. 1–10., doi:10.1017/S0033291721000039.