c.hadleydikeHere is my adventure in Wearable electronics. Sometimes when you sign up for a weekend master class, you know exactly what you hope to take away. When I signed up for the Arduino Master class through my graduate program, I had no idea I would walk away with a whole new outlook and a new world of possibilities. It was also the start of my career projection, taking a massive left turn into Wearable electronics.
Arduino Training – Fall 2016
I decided to attend the master class that was being held for the Technical Directors, Arduino Training. Learning new skills is important to me, and when I sign up for the class, I had no idea what I would be learning. I knew I had something to do with microcontrollers and coding, but that was about it. The instructor began with some basic knowledge of circuits and coding. He quickly had is get out the Arduino Starter kits that we would work with for the rest of the day.
Out we pulled a breadboard and an Arduino. It is basically a board that you plug into your computer and then using jumper cables power a breadboard. This setup helps to figure out your circuits. Like almost all students, you sate with a simple code to turn on a light. Next, you learn how to turn on the light and then have it turn itself off. Then, you guessed it, create a code to make the light blink first fast then slow. This helps you really get started and learn that coding is not as complicated as some people say. Don’t get me wrong, I can only do minimal and easy coding, and I look at many other examples to help me achieve my desired outcomes. However, it is a great way to introduce coding to someone who has had no experience.
We spent the remainder of the day playing around with the different items in the sampler pack. Some of which included; Buttons, switches, motors, light sensors, and more. I had such an amazing time in that call I immediately put the advance starter kit on my Christmas list at the very top!!!
Receiving the Advanced Arduino Starter Kit
I was so excited to receive the starter kit for Christmas I opened it and played around with the different items that come with it. This kit is great because it includes lessons on how to learn how to build a circuit and code each piece of hardware that cam in the box. Again I was hooked! Unfortunately, the second half of that year in graduate school was crazy busy, and I could not devote the amount of time I wanted to continue my learning.
When the summer came around, I hit the ground running again. I started researching all the different ways I could be using and incorporating the pieces I had. That is when I really started exploring the website adafruit. This website is a wonderful wealth of information and project ideas with step by step instruction on creating the projects. This is also when I found SparkFun. SparkFun’s main building was located only 30 minutes from where I was staying for the summer. I was so excited to visit the SparkFun Location. I research for hours the different board and LED’s I could purchase there. This was really when I started dreaming about how I could incorporate LED’s into clothing.
Buying my first sewable boards and LED’s
On the first trip to the store, I bought the basics starter kits and a few extra boards, and some LED’s. It was so exciting to be starting finally. I went home and immediately started sewing an LED onto a felt bracelet. I also sewed multiple snaps on the bracelet. The LED would display a different pre-programmed code depending on which snap was used. This bracelet utilized a LilyPad Coin batter board, LIlyPad Twinkle, and a single LED. So simple, and yet it made me so excited!!! I was enamored and ready to keep learning and experimenting.
Creating my Own Independent Study in Wearable Electronics
Back at graduate school for my third and final year, and created my own course to teach myself more about wearable electronics. I created two major projects that would challenge and teach me different wearable items was how I laid out my course. The first project was a half-scale dress that incorporated fairy lights and EL-wire. The second was a steampunk-inspired hat that would incorporate motors and LCD screens.
To learn and progress forward, I needed to fail, and I failed a lot!!! I learned about the blue smoke theory. There is always a certain amount of blue smoke that can be emitted out of a board before it will stop working. I learned the wrong way to wire a circuit, causing to melt a 6 AA battery case and totally stink up a room to high heaven. But I also got some crazy cool inspiration for projects from these mistakes, as well as great stories.
Continuing Education and adventure in Wearable Electronics
That class was only the beginning of my education and adventure in wearable electronics. I love finding inspiration everywhere and dreaming up new projects. The technology is evolving fast, and I believe that soon the parts and pieces will be even smaller and will be easier to conceal. Since this is a fast and changing subject we will all be learning as the technology grows and changes. Let us continue exploring the world of wearable technology together.
Want my Wearable Technology Starter Toolkit Checklist?
Here is the checklist of tools and components I always have on hand for creating my wearable technology!!