Video of final project available here: https://youtu.be/ZTxle8vFWD0 My project is a tactile, interactive STEM outreach piece. It is designed to get kids excited about electronics and programming with lights and motion. The EL wire is passive and can draw in an audience, the persistence of vision is designed for ‘Wow’ […]
Accomplishments: I finished sewing all the EL wire onto the carpet! For the 555/servo circuit, I figured out how the protoboard should be configured, and cut the traces as needed. Finally, I cut and sewed the base of the lantern for holding the battery packs. Problems or Issues: What […]
Accomplishments: I finished the 555 chip circuit for controlling the servo motor and it works reasonably well. I also completed sewing the orange EL wire into an outer square. For the purple chasing EL wire I looked at a lot of designs before settling on the word ‘magic’ in Arabic […]
Accomplishments: I was able to work on the 555 chip circuit for controlling the servo motor following the tutorial on makezine.com/projects/projects-in-motion-control-three-types-of-motors-with-555-timers/ . It was a bit challenging to find all the parts, I ended up going to several locations in town and making two different orders online. After completing some […]
Accomplishments: A lot came together this week. I was able to get a carpet from Sergenian’s, cut it to size and treat the ends with fray-check. A more permanent edge treatment may be helpful, but it’s holding reasonably well for now. I cut the spring steel boning into six equal […]
Problems or Issues: Since my last progress report I’ve lost significant time to illness*, which have made it not possible for me to pick up the carpet, so that’s #1 priority this week. I also started to work on soldering together the components of my persistence of vision (POV) kit, […]
: Accomplishments: I made great progress in selecting and purchasing the materials I need, all of which will arrive on Monday. I’ve ordered the motors, neopixels, EL Wire and inverter, and POV kit. Most excitingly, I think I have a replacement for the C02: Spring Steel corset boning. I talked to […]
Combining the magic of textiles with the magic of technology is the ‘STEM is Magic Carpet’ – a small throw rug with embedded lights and motion. Designed to be brought to STEM outreach events and build enthusiasm for learning electronics and programming, it integrates EL wire, servo motors, Neo pixel […]