Week 4

Posted on by

What I did this week:

This week I worked on patterning my garment.  (see images above) it is finished except for the inserts.

Successes this week

I finished patterning which was a huge success.  I also figured out how much fabric I need so I can go purchase fabric over thanksgiving break.

Failures this week

largest failure was not getting my electronics in time to work on today in class.  But both my brothers are computer science majors so over break I will be able to pick their brains on how to do something if I have questions.

Schedule:

I have gotten rid of the original schedule.  Now, I plan to start programing when my electronics arrive and will hopefully be able to finish programing over thanksgiving break and get my fabric so I can start sewing on my real fabric when I get back from break.

 

 

“THIS FISH HAS BEEN CAUGHT. EAGLE IS FLYING HOME. I REPEAT, EAGLE FLYS HOME”

Posted on by
  • What did you do this week?
This week I showed up late to class to obtain LEDs from a Fedex location.  Once I got to class, I put another layer of silicone caulk over a dried layer of caulk and I also tested super glue on the dried caulk.  I also made a little waterproof test caulk with a little litmus strip that will show if/when wet:
I checked on my slow-to-ship magnets and they’re making their way here…
  • Describe the problems you encountered
I needlessly cut a USB cord in half so that was a problem.
  • Describe the successes you had
I had a lot of successes this week.
I had a really great one-on-one talk with Kevin.
I obtained very cheaply some wire lead things from Alper and Nathan that really helped my circuit out and simplified it.
I started talking readings off my accelerometer which was very encouraging.
  • Are you on schedule?
I’m on a whole new schedule and I feel great.
  • What do you plan to do next week?

Tuesday is going to be great.  I plan on testing both the dried silicone tests.  I also plan integrating my 6 LEDs in my test circuit.  Hopefully I can work through more accelerometer programming as well.

Week 4 Update – GLOVES

Posted on by

What did you do this week?

This week, we tested the bluetooth and confirmed that data can be transferred over the connection.

We received some flex sensors from SparkFun and plan to incorporate them into our gloves to model the final implementation.

We also discovered how to power the Lilypad (using a spliced USB cable plugged into the wall, thanks Zack!) and placed the bluetooth dongle on the serial pins of the lilypad

Describe the problems you encountered

We solved our longstanding issue with the arduino not talking to the bluetooth dongle; it was a combination of the baudrate not matching up (we ended up using the default 115200 of the bluetooth module), and switching the Rx/Tx pins.

We were having trouble trying to power the bluetooth dongle with the supplied 3.7v lilypad battery.

Describe the successes you had

We used a spliced USB cable (plugged into the wall + voltage regulator) to supply the Lilypad with 5v when the bluetooth dongle takes the Serial port.  We could probably use a AAA-sized 5V battery in the final design.

We also had success transmitting data from a bluetooth-enabled phone to the bluetooth module and having the Arduino respond to the data.  We will use this success to move onto sending textual data and displaying it on the screen next!

Are you on schedule?

Heck yes!  We’re past our initial hurdle of communication and we hope that integration of sensors will go much more smoothly.

What do you plan to do next week?

For next week, we plan to integrate the flex sensors and build a test program for the android phone to transmit custom data (e.g. text messages) to the lilypad/screen.  Additional, thanks to the generous donation of copper taffeta from Nathan, we’re planning on using it as a conductive material to ‘sandwich’ wires to each side of the QTC material.  If successful, this’ll be a very resilient sensor for pressure that we can put on the fingertips or along the sides of the gloves for user interaction.

Week 3 Update

Posted on by

What did you do this week? [Include image(s)]

This week, we explored some more avenues for interaction.  After playing with the tiny 4mm x 4mm QTC, we were having real trouble trying to keep the wires interfaced to the material, we’re going to hedge our bets and also get some flex sensors for sensing the position of the fingers.

We also continued our tribulations with the bluetooth dongle.  This week, we got success connecting to and configuring the bluetooth module remotely, but were still unable to communicate with the device locally (from the arduino).  Below is a picture of the screen displaying the data that the Arduino has (nothing!), and the bluetooth connection with a bluetooth-enabled laptop.

Showing the configuration options after interfacing with the bluetooth module remotely.  The text appears normal, meaning the baud rates match up.

Describe the problems you encountered

For some yet unknown reason, the arudino iteself doesn’t seem to be able to communicate with the chip, making serial communication between the arduino and an external device impossible (for now!).  We also had difficulty embedding the QTC in a material to keep the wires in contact with the material without shorting.

Describe the successes you had

We got all the parts and were able to half-connect to the bluetooth dongle!

Are you on schedule?

We’re a little behind due to the hiccups with the bluetooth dongle, but barring that, the rest of the project seems to be going smoothly.

What do you plan to do next week?

For next week, we’ll chase down our bluetooth woes, place the flex sensors in the gloves, and try out the sensing positions of the fingers and the potential inputs that the arduino would get.

Week 3

Posted on by

Lightning Test

1. What did you do?

  • Received my LEDs
  • Received my prefelts and wool dyes
  • Tested my LEDs for brightness
  • Calculated my LED array
  • Ordered my remaining electronics
  • Planned my wiring scheme

2. Problems

  • Nothing major this week *fingers crossed*

3.  Successes

  • I’ve planned how I can successfully power all of my LEDs and have a solid idea of how to wire and assemble everything.

4. Schedule?

  • I’m a little behind, but I think I can still meet some immediate goals

5. Next Week?

  • The goal for the weekend is to finish draping the dress, do some dye tests on my roving and then do the actual dying of the roving.  This will put me in a position to felt next Friday/weekend.
  • The most important task for this next week to complete draping/patterning the dress.
  • If the supplies arrive, I would also like to purchase my wool roving and dye it in preparation for felting.

Week 3 – Update

Posted on by
  • What did you do this week? 
I was able to find an example code for the pulse sensor which seems to function properly using the arduino uno.  I will need to do some more work to get the 3 LEDs to communicate with the pulse sensor.
I also received the proximity sensor, new fabric and LEDs.
I also discussed with Emelia how to sew in a pocket on the back of the jacket in order to hide the Lilypad.
  • Describe the problems you encountered.
  • I have to scrap the pattern pieces I already cut due to the fire incident….
  • Describe the successes you had.
  • The basic code for the pulse sensor seemed to work properly
  • Are you on schedule?
  • While I originally planned to work on the jacket construction this week, I played around with the sensors instead so I think I am still on schedule.
  • What do you plan to do next week?
  • I plan to cut my new pattern and start assembling the jacket.

Moneo: Day 17

Posted on by

Week’s Accomplishments:

Tested soldering the copper wire thread to components. Seemed to work really well. Didn’t even burn the fabric too much!

 

 

 

Here is a close up of the wiring and solder connections. The wires are really small!

 

 

 

 

Copper taffeta from LessEMF. Nice stuff and the shipping was faster than I expected.

 

 

 

Close up of the taffeta. The conductivity is good across the surface, so hopefully this will be useful for a variety of tasks.

 

 

 

Both Teensys are plugged into the breadboard with SD-card slots. All we need now is the transmitters and we can get some communication happening.

 

 

 

Screenshot of the VCard loading from SD chip and then the SipHash running on it to generate a 64-bit hash code. Should be strong enough to avoid collision, while being short enough to transmit really fast for identification.

Problems:

No serious problems apart from waiting for parts.

Successes:

Hash code went smoother than expected. Discovered SipHash, a fast hash developed to resist collision attacks on hash tables. Not as safe as something like SHA1, but really fast for a micro-controller to perform (350 us!) and certainly suitable for a small scale prototype. Overall I’m quite pleased with it.

Schedule:

Starting to run behind I think, due to the delay on the RF transmitters. But the shielding fabric is in, so when I get them, I can start testing with that immediately.

Next week:

Hope and pray the transmitters arrive early, so I can figure them out by end of the week. There is a shipping notice, so here’s me hoping.

IM SORRY I MISSED CLASS AND MISSED JURASSIC SPARK

Posted on by

What did you do this week? [Include image(s)]
This week I stayed home sick and spent the big dollars on some new materials.
I ordered the magnets I am going to try out. They are little half-inch magnetic disks.

Next I ordered fabric:

Describe the problems you encountered

My main problem was missing class.  Another problem is shipping cost and it is too expensive.
Describe the successes you had

This complete post is about the biggest success this week.
Are you on schedule?

no
What do you plan to do next week?

I plan to go to class and be healthy.  I plan to have a nice little sit-down date with my accelerometer and really get personal.

week 3 update

Posted on by

– finished setting up loom
– ready to weave

Problems:
– lily tiny and avr programmer didn’t end up working out the way I had anticipated.

Successes:
– figured out a new plan with LEDs and sensors to create a motion detecting light up scarf.
– ordering the rest of my supplies tonight

Schedule:

– on time. finish construction of scarf this weekend begin writing code.