Week 9: E-textiles & wearables II
(22/11/2017)
Assignment: Create an interactive object; if you are already experienced with coding, focus on fully integrating a microcontroller into a textile circuit. If you are new to coding, choose an example and get it working using your own sensors and actuators.
Idea: Glove for helping blind-deaf people to communicate with simple phrases outside or in any non-adapted location. For this idea I used the Sparkfun Lilypad mp3 board that is able to store in a sd card different sound commands.
MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUES
1. Look for Open Source code for Lilypad mp3 with different sound output depending on input location.
The code was found in an open source website for a similar experiment with conductive ink and the code was adapted to this project.
Afterwards the proper code was uploaded in the Lilypad board and the electrical system was build up around it.
For the experiment extra cable connections were used to connect the board and speakers.
After a successful try out the circuit was redesigned to fit into the glove surface. The first sketches were made on paper but afterward it had to be digitalized.
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3. Design the circuit and gloves with Rhino already putting it into scale.
This step is necessary to prepare the vectors to be cut with the laser cutter. The Offset tool was often used to ensure the same 3mm thickness of the conducting path.
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4. Prepare conductive textile and cut it with laser cuter
In this step a special double sided adhesive paper heat activated was used to glue the conductive textile on the glove.
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5. Assembly: Sewing and Soldering
The final details required the conductive thread to connect the circuit of conductive textile and normal non-conductive was used to sew the glove together.
The final product of this weeks assignment is therefore a prototype of a glove that needs to be covered inside to avoid chocks and waste of battery. This glove works and fits its purpose of innovative solution with textile for care.