Project Title

The Poncho

Project Team Members

Alex Peer

Project Description

Modular system for mounting electronics on a human being, such that the removable bits are rugged, comfortable, in theme with the garment, and can interface with sensors and displays woven into the garment.

The main tricks:

• some sort of garment-to-module mounting system, such as magnetic snaps
• some sort of internal or inter-module mounting system, making it convenient for prototyping and customization

Sketch/Concept Art

Inspiration

When developing other project ideas, there was always some component that worked best as a separate module from the woven garment — for protection (from washing; from the worn environment), or to enable some other function (charging while the garment is worn; getting a different perspective with some sensor, like a camera; reprogramming or other tinkering).

It came up enough that it seemed project-sized.

Materials and Costs

Already have:

• Microcontroller
• A few sensors
• Some non-magnetic snaps
• Access to a 3D printer

Still need:

• More sensors
• Other microcontrollers (adafruit feather m0?)
• Lots of time testing with the 3D printer
• Materials (and skills) for the non-plastic part.
• Maybe some fiber optics.

Timeline

2 Weeks, from Feb 29th:

• Source Materials
• 3D print: design and test
• Test materials for connection — conductivity, stability (no sliding, no sparking)
• Design: internal connections

3 Weeks, from March 14th:

• Build the thing.
• Comfort, Aesthetics.

2 Weeks, from April 12th:

• Overflow; Test, Polish.

Fallback Plans

Simpler enclosures.

Non-magnetic snaps.

Less fancy display.