Introduction: Communication Board

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We created a communication board for those who are nonverbal or have trouble speaking. Using the Circuit Playground Bluefruit, this board allows one to tell a joke, tell someone they love them, greet someone, play music, etc.

Supplies

  • Alligator Clips
  • Aluminum
  • Baltic Birchwood (⅛”)
  • Battery Pack
  • Cardboard
  • Circuit Playground Bluefruit
  • Electrical Tape
  • Hot Glue & Hot Glue Gun
  • Paint
  • Paper
  • Speaker

Step 1: Laser Cutting

  • Use a laser cutter to cut the baltic wood to your desired dimension.
  • Engrave 7 (or however many speech options you want) squares on the board and laser a hole in the middle of each square.
  • Laser an extra circle on the side for the cords of the battery and speaker.


Step 2: Paint the Board

  • Paint the front and back of your board whatever color you’d like.
  • We painted the front of our board gold and the back black. 

Step 3: Print the Images

  • Print the images which will represent the buttons on the board. Each image should correspond to a specific message you’d like the speaker to play.
  • We painted over our images to make them more textured and colorful.

Step 4: Record Your Sounds


Step 5: Glue Aluminum Foil

  • Glue aluminum foil to the back of every picture
  • You can use any conductive material as a substitute (ex: copper tape)

Step 6: Gluing Pictures & Alligator Clips

  • Tape CPB down on the back of the board
  • Glue the pictures on the board
  • Attach alligator clips/wires
  • One end attaches to the aluminum foil through the circle and one end goes to the corresponding CPB touchpad (view code)


Step 7: Speaker & Battery

  • Glue the speaker and the battery pack to the board (where the circle is that does not have a square)
  • Feed the wires through the circle and attach the wires of the battery pack and the speaker to the CPB


Step 8: Tape Everything Down

  • Turn to the back of the board
  • Use electrical tape to attach the alligator clips on the back and to prevent them from getting tangled and ensure they stay in place.


Step 9: Cover the Back

  • Hot glue cardboard or paper on the back of the board to hide the wires and shield the user from the wiring.


Step 10: Code

Now, let's code! Add the sounds in your CPB folder and download this code. Customize to your liking!

(Note: we used the Mu Editor)

Attachments

Step 11: Try It Out

We're finished! Try your board out.