Arduino Lilypad Interactive Passion Sensing Scarf

This was my first time working with an Arduino Lilypad. I have been wanting to try something that dealt with soft circuits for awhile now. This project is what I came up with. The concept is based off my friend Ethan Dicks from theFusefactory.org's emergent Sheep Sculpture project.

The  Lilypad Interactive Passion Sensing Scarf works like so:

Scarf number one being worn by someone walking alone will light up with the color Blue for Lonely. When the wearer of scarf number two joins up with number one, the two scarves will sense each other and then  light up Red for Love.

Future plans for capacitance touch: which will allow the colors to Pulsate for Passion if one wearer touches the other wearers scarf.

Below is a video so you can see how it works. Please note this is a work in progress, I only have the electronics embedded into one scarf right now. I am still working on and perfecting these. Please fill free to share your ideas!

Step 1: Materials

Here is a list of the items you will need to complete this project. For the Lilypad items, I purchased everything from FunGizmos.com. You will need two of each to make two scarves.

Savings Tip: If you need to save money, you could have one of the scarves work just as an emitter only, which would only need the IR transmitter and a battery.

Electronic Components

1. Lilypad Arduino Board
2. Lilypad Tri-Color LED
3. Coin Cell Holder
4. 3V Coin Cell Battery 20mm
(or you can use any of the other power and battery boards for the Lilypad)
5. Conductive Thread
6. Lilypad Button Board (optional)
7. (x2) Infrared Emitter and Phototransistor Detector - available at RadioShack
8. Resistors 10Kohm and 56ohm
9. FTDI Basic breakout Board (used to program the Lilypad)

Scarf Components - For the fabric needs, I went to my local craft store.

1. I used two different colored fleece scarves
2. Two different fabric prints ( I had 1 yd of each)
3. Heat'n Bond Ultra Hold Iron-On Adhesive
4. Fabric paint
5. Iron Patches (optional)


 

Comments

[Grumpy Mike]

This circuit will damage your arduino.
It has an arduino output pin effectively shunting current across the LED. With a resistor of 56R and a voltage of 5V this will cause a current of 90mA to flow through the arduino pin. The limit for such current, that is the value where it will start causing damage is 40mA, so it is almost twice overloaded. Even if you run the lilypad at 3v3 you are still going to pull 59mA and exceed the damage threshold. To keep it safe the 56R resistor has to be at least 125R but better would be 133R.
You might not notice the damage straight away but exceeding the manufacturer's ratings is a sure way to shorten the like of any electronic component.

[didgeridoodle]

have you heard of light wires?  Ive seen them a lot at raves and night clubs.  you can program them to go off on certain cycles.  if you could weave it into the scarf  your  entire scarf could light up that chosen color.or even just the patterns. its a very flexable wire and there are many types on the market.  its basically fiber optics.  i think it would go very well with your scarfs

[SwitchGirl]

do you mean EL wire? If so, EL wire give a nice accent - however its not that great for getting wet and I feel a scarf may get wet. Anyone know of good ways to seal in EL Wire out there?

[SwitchGirl]

Love it love it. I am re-blogging this to my site today! Great job and thank you for sharing your code. The hardest part in teaching newcomers sometimes is that people hide all their code and then they become discouraged when they have to learn it fast. This gets them up and running making something quickly... Thank you!

[dragontigor]

Nice instructable, thumbs up.
Btw, if you need flame designs for free then take a look at Dragonartz

[ArduinoFun]

Thank you, and thanks for the graphics link!

[dionysus.god]

hmmm... I got a mind flex for christmas (EEG games are cool) and i think maybe if you were to add some sort of EEG/brainwave reader so that the LED would shine according to the actual mood of a person, that'd be cool.  Or have it work like a mood ring does, the body temperature!  and since the scarf is super close contact, then that'd be no problem!

I think a hat would work better for the EEG idea tho.  closer to the brain and all...

great idea tho! really love it!

[ArduinoFun]

I like the body temperature idea! That is something I would like to explore further.

The mind flex game looks really cool.

[dark12222000]

 I like the idea, but why an IR transmitter?  Especially with something like a scarf, it would be limited by outside light and by lack of line of sight.  What about a cheap RF transmitter kit? Longer range and no worry about line of sight, plus you can get a kit for about 5$.

Still though, really sweet idea!

[ArduinoFun]

Thanks dark... that's a great idea that I will have to pursue!

[dark12222000]

 It should be a drop in that'll act like a serial cable replacement, but if you need any help, feel free to shout out.

[scoochmaroo]

Awesome!  I've been wanting to make something similar ever since I saw the 8-bit Dynamic Life Shirt on thinkgeek.  I think this is a very sweet gift and far more subtle than the row of giant hearts that light up :D

[watermelonhead]

That's exactly what I thought of when I saw this!

[ArduinoFun]

Thanks scoochmaroo! I made the pink scarf for my wife for Christmas.  I want to figure out how to use the sewing machine we have and work on some more ideas.

[scoochmaroo]

I'll be doing a bunch of sewing projects featuring the great machines Singer sent us.  You've given me the idea to include a basic tutorial as well!

[ArduinoFun]

That would be great! I anxiously await for it :)