I’m reblogging from Core77 this interesting wearable project because I’d like to highlight the using of Arduino Lilypad board:

Bio Circuit stems from our concern for ethical design and the creation of media-based interactions that reveal human interdependence with the environment. With each beat of the heart, Bio Circuit connects the wearer with the inner workings of their body.

It was created at Emily Carr University by Industrial Design student Dana Ramler, and MAA student Holly Schmidt and provides a form of bio feedback using data from the wearer’s heart rate to determine what “sounds” they hear through the speaker embedded in the collar of the garment. Here’s the schematic of technology:

Have a look at the video below to see how it works and don’t miss BioCircuit Project page on Dana’s Portfolio:

Ruffletron is a prototype of a wearable musical interface and an experiment in performative interaction.

The project has been developed by a textile designer, Lara Grant, in collaboration with the sound engineer Cullen Miller.

For prototyping purpose, Lara used a LilyPad Arduino, Maxuino, Osculator and Ableton Live.

Project details here.

TshirtOS showed us one take on wearable gadgetry earlier this month, and now it's Woven's turn. This particular e-garment packs quite the selection of hardware, as you can see above -- a trio of LilyPad Arduino boards (and some custom ones), a Bluetooth module, 12 x 12 RGB LED "screen", speakers, bend sensors, a heart rate monitor, shake motors and a power pack. You'll need to accessorize, of course, with a smartphone for hardware harmony and to run companion apps. So what's it for, you ask? Well, the creators are touting it primarily as a "pervasive" gaming platform, and even seem to have a working first title in the form of SPOOKY (think gesture-based ghost-fighting). Other uses (which appear a little more conceptual) see Woven as a workout companion, TV remote, Wii controller, social network alerter or simply a fashion accessory. Check out the videos below to see it in action and imagine all the fun you could have in the five minutes before you're ushered into that padded room.

Continue reading Woven's wearable platform for gaming, cool points and a whole lot more (video)

Filed under: Wearables

Woven's wearable platform for gaming, cool points and a whole lot more (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 05:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We are happy to announce the first wearable kit on the Arduino Store . This kit has been made by Plug’n'Wear specifically for us. All fabrics in this kit are produced in Italy, and strongly related to a textile family business. If you want to get deeper into the story of this product have a look at Riccardo Marchesi presentation (still in Italian, soon to be traslated!) at World Wide Rome 2012.

Read over for Kit’s features

This kit features:

1. 1x Circular Stretch Sensor Designed by Hannah Perner-Wilson, this circular knit stretch sensor works perfect when you need to detect tension in many projects.
2. 2x Textile push button to make easy digital inputs in cloth, scarfs o bags.
3. 2x Spools of Conductive thread, ready to be hooked over a sewing machine
4. 2x Soft potentiometer kit will let you import analog data into your wearable project: this kit includes 1 meter of knitted conductive tape and a metal ring. Watch it in action (see video)
5. 10x 1k ohm resistor
6. 10x 10k ohm resistor
7. 1x Textile perfboard is going to change the way you think of wearable circuits. You can sew or even solder components (SMD & through-hole) on this . It can be easily cut or sewn with a standard sewing machine. Washable. Size: 15 cm x 15 cm (6″ x 6″) / Pitch: 2.54 mm (0.1″)
8. 1x Knitted Coated Copper Tape. Small conductive tape made of coated copper fine wire (112 micron). Flexible, easy to cut, sewable with a standard sewing machine, It can be easily welded ( The coating will melt and tape will be soldered). The surface of this tape has a good insulation thrughout its lenght. Resistance: 107 Ohm/m. Width: 9 mm (0.35″)
9. 1x Analog Textile Press Button, working with a resistive principle (resistance goes down when you press it). It works as a bend sensor as well. By connecting more sensors together it is possible to make a matrix analog switch. Sensitive area 40mm x 40mm (1.57″x1.57″)
10. 2x LilyPad LED Bright White A simple, very bright, 250mcd, white LED LilyPad

source: [arduino store]

Light-based communication seems to wind throughout the MIT Media Lab -- it is a universal language, after all, since many devices output light, be it with a dedicated LED or a standard LCD, and have the capacity to view and interpret it. One such device, coined Droplet, essentially redirects light from one source to another, while also serving as a physical interface for tablet-based tasks. Rob Hemsley, a research assistant at the Media Lab, was on hand to demonstrate two of his projects. Droplet is a compact self-contained module with an integrated RGB LED, a photodiode and a CR1216 lithium coin battery -- which provides roughly one day of power in the gadget's current early prototype status. Today's demo used a computer-connected HDTV and a capacitive-touch-enabled tablet. Using the TV to pull up a custom Google Calendar module, Hemsley held the Droplet up to a defined area on the display, which then output a series of colors, transmitting data to the module. Then, that data was pushed to a tablet after placing the Droplet on the display, pulling up the same calendar appointment and providing a physical interface for adjusting the date and time, which is retained in the cloud and the module itself, which also outputs pulsing light as it counts down to the appointment time.

StackAR, the second project, functions in much the same way, but instead of outputting a countdown indicator, it displays schematics for a LilyPad Arduino when placed on the tablet, identifying connectors based on a pre-selected program. The capacitive display can recognize orientation, letting you drop the controller in any position throughout the surface, then outputting a map to match. Like the Droplet, StackAR can also recognize light input, even letting you program the Arduino directly from the tablet by outputting light, effectively simplifying the interface creation process even further. You can also add software control to the board, which will work in conjunction with the hardware, bringing universal control interfaces to the otherwise space-limited Arduino. Both projects appear to have incredible potential, but they're clearly not ready for production just yet. For now, you can get a better feel for Droplet and StackAR in our hands-on video just past the break.

Gallery: MIT Media Lab: Droplet and StackAR hands-on

Continue reading Droplet and StackAR bring physical interface to virtual experiences, communicate through light (hands-on)

Droplet and StackAR bring physical interface to virtual experiences, communicate through light (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fashionable Technology Performance_ Interactive Necklace from Sylvia Yang on Vimeo.

In an age of geekifying, everything electronics entering fashion is not something new. But the subtle difference between doing something classy and over doing is set apart by the talented designer Sylvia Yang.

A designer’s draft of the design + components (we can see a lilypad there!) is shown here:

[Via: www.sylvia-yang.com]

A former student of a college located in the town Bikaner, Rajasthan(India), Anirudh Sharma (twitter, blog) is a maker with a lot of perseverance. His first project Sparsh (Video) during college days generated a lot of interest in the Indian Maker community. His regular work at HP labs as a consultant, and his most famous recent work which was presented at TEDx BITS, Goa, the shoe for the blind – Le-chal, has brought him to the attention of makers around the world.

The latest was him getting featured in the MIT Technology Review, India TR35 list as a ‘young technology innovator’ followed by a call to pursue further studies with MIT Media Labs.

A casual chat-up with him threw light on the way open source hardware is affecting the lives of independent makers of India.

Priya: Congrats Anirudh! How does it feel to be featured in MIT list of young inventors?
Anirudh: Feels great that our work is being recognized at that level. Its a great platform to meet other people in doing technology related work.
Priya: Could you explain the project that was featured for our readers?
Anirudh: Codenamed as le´ chal, it’s a way of communicating navigational information with an intuitive eye-free interface. We used pizeo vibrational actuators in the four sides of the shoe that ‘poke’ the user about the direction he needs to walk in. The system could fit within a shoe. The reason we used a shoe is because it is something that we can repeatedly use in our day to day lives. We’ve started a company – Ducere Technologies [website yet to be up] to take this forward as a full fledged product.
Priya: Which specific area interests you the most in the field of electronics?
Anirudh: [I am] Not much of an electronics guy, I started fooling around with transducers back in 2010. I like the research going on in area of MEMS/Biomechatronics though.
Priya: What prompted you to use Arduino?
Anirudh: [Laughs] Not being an electronics guy, Arduino was the easiest way for me to start prototyping. The high-level easy access to sensor data pushed me to choose this platform to begin with.
Priya: So, MIT media labs that is big! What do you plan to study there?
Anirudh: Not thought yet. I’d love to explore tangible input to CAD systems, Raskar’s NETRA project which creates an inverse Shack-Hartmann sensor. This compiles to new hardware add-on to mobile phones for instant eye-prescription data. Other projects that interest me are AutoStereoscopic displays-BiDi screen, similar to explorations I did with my mentor ‘SriG‘(Sriganesh Madhvanath) at HP Labs.
Priya: I see that you have taken initiatives for the blind, what other areas can you see open source hardware solving problems?
Anirudh: If you’ve an idea that could touch lives, there’s nothing better than open source hardware to start your explorations with, as it not only provides the right tools but a community backing that you could rely on.
Priya: Any special blogs/people that you follow in the field of technology?
Anirudh: [I follow the works of] Arduino, MIT Tech Review, Seth Sandler, Bret Vitor, Aza Raskin, ladyada for it brings out fresh insights. In general, I admire works of VS Ramachandran, Feynman, Shwetak Patel and Bill Buxton.
Priya: Any other hobbies other than tinkering?
Anirudh: I play Portal 2, FarCry, trek to new places, and do photography.