PLACE : Onl'Fait, Geneva
DATE: 28/10
PEOPLE: Cristina, Giorgia, Luisa

STEP 1

PROCESS & MATERIAL: based on the scheme provided by Wemake Milano, we fabricated a piezoresistive analog sensor. The pressure sensor was built with neoprene, Velostat, conductive threads and copper conductive fabric.

ISSUES: I sewed a small piece of conductive fabric to the conductive thread to enlarge the surface where to attach the other components. However I could have simply covered the surface with several stitches to obtain a neater result.

NOTES: only Neoprene without PVC can be laser cut. As I was not sure about the composition of the neoprene I used, I cut it with scissors and the shape was not extremely precise.

STEP 2

PROCESS: based on the scheme provided by Wemake Milano, I attached the pressure sensor to a LED and a Lilypad. I added a pull-up resistor because the Lilypad analog pins are reading the voltage that comes in, not the resistance over the two points. For a detailed explanation of voltage divider, please refer to the website How to get what you want. I first tested the circuit with a multimeter and crocodile clips before sewing all the components with conductive thread.

MATERIAL & TOOLS: Lilypad, FDTI, USB cable, crocodile clips, 10 KOhm resistor

ISSUES: I didn't add a second resistor to the circuit and that might result in a shorter life of the LED.

STEP 3

PROCESS: I programmed the Lilypad to make an emotional heart. The LED has an average “heart rate” of 60 beats a minute but if you touch the heart, it becomes emotional and the LED heart rate increases to 180 beats a minute.

SOFTWARE: Arduino IDE

NOTES: I would have loved to experiment with ATtiny but as it was not delivered on time, I used a Lilypad.

CODE: