Why embed electronics into wearables?

Embedding electronics in our clothing allows what we wear to become "smart", meaning that our wearables can sense inputs, communicate information, and respond to us and our environments.

Embedded Electronics in Fashion

Examples of fashion incorporating digital technology demonstrate its power of self-expression, safety, learning, and transformation. This is often an electronic system of sensing and reacting.

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In this activity we will learn how to embed a LED into a wearable fabric. This technique can be used with any electronics hardware to prototype wearable tech products to test their functionality.

SEWING IN CIRCUITS

An LED circuit requires three basic elements. The light, the wires that create a loop, and a battery. 

A switch can also be added to allow you to open and close the circuit, turning on and off the light. 

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a switch is an electrical drawbridge when the bridge is up the electrons can't go anywhere

the Light Emitting Diode [LED] will provide our light

the battery holds the electrons

LED CIRCUIT BASICS

LEDs

switch

wires

batteries

LED

switch

battery

BUILDING A SIMPLE CIRCUIT

3

Volts

A battery is a device that stores chemical energy and converts it to electrical energy. The chemical reactions in a battery involve the flow of electrons from one material (electrode) to another, through an external circuit. The flow of electrons provides an electric current that can be used to do work.

THE BATTERY

1.8 - 3.3

Volts

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current flows through it. LEDs have positive (+) and negative (-) sides to them. For an LED to work it needs to be connected to a voltage source with the correct side.

THE LED

A switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit. Interrupting the electric current turns the LED off, connecting the current turns it on. 

THE SWITCH

Securing the wires to the switch

Attach the metal ends of wires through holes of switch prongs

Secure each side with tape - make sure the wires aren't touching each other!

Embedding the LED in Fabric - Step One

Insert the LED into the fabric.

Tight against the material.

Fold down the LED wires.

Embedding the LED in Fabric - Step Two

Plus the LED into jumper cables.

Tape down to secure the connection.

LEDs can be exposed directly.

LEDs can be diffused through fabric.

THE RESULT

LEDs can be mounted a variety of ways, including in measured holes that are drilled, hole punched, or laser cut into your prototype.

Multiple LEDs can be powered off of the same battery if they are wired in parallel circuits.

If you want to control the behavior of an LED to either respond to an input, such as a temperature sensor, or perform a routine, such as blinking, we will use a micocontroller to code that behavior.

PREVIOUS STUDENT EXAMPLES

Prompt - Create a Circuit Diagram

of Your Cyborg Enhancement

Draw out the elements of a circuit at full scale on a mock-up diagram of your design. How long do the wires have to be? Where will the switch be to turn on and off your cyborg enhancement? 

Prompt - Consider How You Can Embed Electronics Into Your Next Prototype

Decide with your partner how you will incorporate the light and fabric into your build.

Prompt - Consider How You Can Embed Electronics Into Your Next Prototype

WHAT WE ARE DOING

WHY WE ARE DOING IT

writing down, drawing, and sharing as many cyborg ideas as possible on the whiteboard 

to select the cyborg concept that you and a partner will develop through prototyping

Natural Human Ability

Disability

Super-Human Ability

Sight

Hearing

Touch

Taste

Smell

Movement

Communication

Understanding

Emotion

RETURN TO THE CYBORG POSSIBILITY CHART

Focus on the super-human abilities of the cyborg future

Ideas can come from your future fictional worlds, from natural inspiration or some of your favorite activities. 

BRAINSTORMING STEPS

5 MINS

15 MINS

10 MINS

5 MINS

Individual silent thinking

Preparing writing + drawing

Gallery Walk 

Document

Write down as many possible ideas as you can. Try to think of an idea for each of your five senses and for many different activities and abilities.

Develop a few of your ideas by drawing what they would look like. How is it worn on your body? How would you describe it to the rest of the studio?

You will be given some stickies. Go around and look at each one and give a compliment. What do you love about the idea?

GROUP BRAINSTORMING RULES

Come up with many ideas, do not stop at 1 or 2. This is not a time to decide what your project will be, it is a time to share as many possibilities of what it could be. 

Do not put down other's ideas when they share. Critiquing ideas too soon could cause people to be self-conscious and not want to speak. We want to be judgement free when brainstorming.

Share ideas that you can build & test, not fantasy.  Wild ideas are good, but if the wild idea cannot be tested in our studio, it is not the right choice. We cannot build jetpacks, shoot lasers, or time travel. What could you build a testable prototype of?

TIME TO BRAINSTORM!

WHAT WE ARE MAKING

WHY WE ARE MAKING IT

a collage of a fictional future landscape

to explore the possibilities of alternative futures

the conditions of the future will determine

the Cyborg Enhancements of the future

LEARNING GOAL

CREATIVE CONFIDENCE

In creating imagery of a fictional world, students will begin to take ownership of the direction of their creative exploration. The use of a fiction futures places the expertise of the context in the hands of the author of that fiction, the student. 

ACTIVITY MATERIALS

Photoshop, 

Photopea.com,

or other photo editing software

Images from the Internet to collage

Background Image

Transparent PNG

1920 x 1080 Canvas

Add layers to construct your future fiction montage 

TELL A STORY

Use your collage to construct a narrative of what the future could be like, either good or bad, and why.

In the future, the police force will be a team of autonomous robots. These robots will be fearless and will be able to address traffic issues on busy highways without the need to stop the flow of traffic. 

WILL THE FUTURE BE A UTOPIA?

WILL THE FUTURE BE A DYSTOPIA?

OR BE REALISTIC OR ARTISTIC?

CAN OR BE CLOSE UP OR FAR OUT

Start with a blank canvas with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 or greater. 

Place each element on a separate Photoshop Layer

Use high resolutions (large pixel count) images to build your montage

Consider perspective, color, brightness, and scale

Try multiple different options to determine which best tells your story

HOW TO MONTAGE

EXAMPLE STUDENT MONTAGES

PIN UP

We will all share the collages that we create and tell the stories of our fictional future worlds.

WHAT WE ARE MAKING

WHY WE ARE MAKING IT

a full-scale drafted drawing of your cyborg enhancements with notes and dimensions  

this drafted drawing will serve as the

blueprint to build our final prototypes

ACTIVITY MATERIALS

Pencil 

Colored Markers

Ruler 

Paper (large) 

TRACE WEARABLE LOCATION

ADD COMPONENTS

ADD DIMENSIONS AND LABELS

HOW DOES IT ATTACH

STUDENT EXAMPLES

ACTIVITY OBJECTIVES

To create a full-scale, wearable prototype of the form of your cyborg enhancement

ACTIVITY MATERIALS

Cardboard

Cutting Mat

Metal Ruler

Pencil 

Markers 

Cutting Blade

Masking Tape

Hot Glue Gun

 * String

 * Fasteners 

 * Paper

FULL-SCALE TESTING

Low-fidelity,

full-scale

mock-ups allow us to test factors of our designs in ways that sketching and small model making cannot. 

ATTACHMENT LOCATION

Consider all possible locations and methods of attachment for your wearable enhancement. 

START WITH A SKETCH 

Sketch how you image your Cyborg Enhancement works

Use your first sketch to create a cut template, a blueprint for your mock-up

USE YOUR BODY FOR ACCURATE SCALE

CARDBOARD CUTTING TIPS

Use the lines on the cutting mat and the ruler to cut straight and perpendicular lines 

Carefully draw on the cardboard the lines you want to cut first, then use your blade to trace them

Many light passes with the cutting blade will result in a cleaner cut than one strong push through the cardboard

SCORING CARDBOARD FOR BENDING

STACKING CARDBOARD FOR VOLUME

CUT CURVES BY MAKING MANY SMALL SLICES

TEST, PHOTOGRAPH, FILM, AND CRITIQUE

THIS WEARABLE MOCK-UP

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

Now that you have built it out of cardboard, what would be the best materials and methods for the next prototype?

You have built and tested one possible shape of this enhancement. What other shapes could this concept take?

What do you need to learn to create the next, more developed prototype of this concept? 

WHAT WE ARE MAKING

WHY WE ARE MAKING IT

a dance enhancer, wearable performance piece

to learn to design for the body and how it moves

ACTIVITY MATERIALS

Cardboard

Metal Ruler

Pencil 

Markers 

Cutting Blade

Masking Tape

Hot Glue Gun

String

Fasteners 

Paper

VIRAL DANCE PHENOMENON

We will draw our inspiration from the viral dances of the internet to create our dance enhancers.

FORTNITE EMOTES

We can also draw our inspiration from the dances popularized by the video game Fortnite. 

OTHER FAMOUS DANCES

The things that we wear can enhance the experience and the performance of our dancing. 

With a partner, you will create a dance enhancer, wearable performance piece.

SKETCH

BUILD

RECORD

POST YOUR DANCE

*OPTIONAL CONVERT YOUR VIDEO TO A GIF ANIMATION

LET'S DANCE!

WHAT WE ARE DOING

WHY WE ARE DOING IT

researching a unique example of a cyborg enhancement and presenting it to the studio  

to build a library of examples that we can learn from and use to inspire our cyborg prototypes

Now that we understand what a cyborg is, we can research examples to inspire our own concepts for cyborg enhancements. The larger our library of examples, the better. 

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

Preview all of the possible cyborg examples below this post. 

This is a good starting point for your research

Select one cyborg exampled to dive deep into research on. 

Create a sign up sheet to ensure no repeats. 

Research to fully understand why that person chose to become a cyborg. How did they do it? Why did they do it? 

Save a collection of pictures and create a presentation of your chosen cyborg. Tell the story of their cyborg origins. 

We will all share in a short presentation our case studies. 

This will build a library of cyborg knowledge for the studio. 

START WITH THE VIDEO LIBRARY

You can research outside of this list (Google, YouTube, etc.) to find other cyborgs.

Found in the posts below this slide show are eight videos to begin your research into real life cyborgs. 

SIGN UP ON THE PRESENTATION LIST

We want to be sure no two people present the same cyborg at the end of our research. 

RESEARCH DEEP

What is the origin story of the cyborg? 

What function does the enhancement serve? 

What materials were used to create the cyborg enhancement?

Why did you find this cyborg enhancement interesting?  

PRESENTATION TEMPLATE

Cyborg name

Description of cyborg ability

Materials and tech used

Other interesting info

GROUP DISCUSSION

WHAT IS A CYBORG? 

GROUP DISCUSSION

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENT BETWEEN A ...

TOOL

MACHINE

ROBOT

CYBORG

Is The Third Thumb a tool, a machine, a robot, or a cyborg?

What is the purpose of The Third Thumb?

A Cyborg Enhancement is a device that improves ability. This can address a disability or it can create super-human ability. 

Natural Human Ability

Disability

Super-Human Ability

Jetpack

Smartphone

Night Vision

Glasses

Hearing Aid

Running Blades

Begin to image what cyborg possibilities you could create

Natural Human Ability

Disability

Super-Human Ability

Sight

Hearing

Touch

Taste

Smell

Movement

Communication

Understanding

Emotion

WHAT WE ARE MAKING

WHY WE ARE MAKING IT

the final, most refined, cyborg prototype

to prepare to present our cyborg concepts

LEARNING GOALS

INNOVATION

The final iteration of their conceptual exploration further develops competency in Innovation, the ability to create new solutions to a problem.   

CREATIVE CONFIDENCE

 teams will be developing their Creative Confidence through the creation of a more advanced physical model by utilizing newly developed skills

As we iterate on our designs, our prototypes should improve in quality and in their ability to more accurately represent and demonstrate our project's concept.

Prototype One

Prototype Two

Prototype Three

In Cyborg Enhancements, this improvement could mean the incorporation of new technology.

LED Light integrated

in projection glasses

Motors integrated

in tremor gloves

Improvement could also mean prototyping with new materials and more refined methods of making.

Cocoon project utilizes reflective tape as its surface finish.

Digital fabrication is an option for more precise creation of parts.

Laser Cutting

3D Printing

Using new mechanisms can better demonstrate and test the movement and function of a project.

Continue to test and improve your project until presentation day.

Manage your time to ensure you have a presentable prototype in time.