Participation Enhancement Glove- DIY Soft Circuit

This project is done to encourage student participation in class activities. The project is an example of soft circuit designed to enhance social interaction and student experience. It uses conductive thread, conductive fabric and resistive plastic. An RGB LED is sewn in to the top of the brace part, it changes color when it is on and the three points are pressed.

Building this project would give you insights into setting up a wearable soft project and you will hopefully pick up some essential techniques required for building soft circuits.

Supplies

Conductive Fabric

Conductive Thread

RGB LED

3V Battery

Battery Pack

Resistive fabric

Felt Fabric

Regular thread

Scissors

A Scan & Cut machine (Can be made without the machine)

Step 1: The Reason Behind the Design

This glove is designed specially to support shy students in a studio environment:

1. If the student is raising their hand just a little, the professor could still spot them if the light on the glove is ON.

2. It can be used to understand students mood, they can have their glove at different colors depending on their mood.

3. It is a fun and interactive voting system that could encourage participation on group discussions.

The technical working of the project were inspired from the following : https://www.instructables.com/Color-Mixing-LED-Bracelet/

Check out the above tutorial if you don't have the understanding of the basic circuit electronics and workings of a TRI color RGB LED.

Step 2: Get Organised

After understanding the project requirements it is a good idea to make some notes and sketches of what are you aiming for. For this project I knew that I want something that would work when I close my hand, so here are the quick rough sketches I drew (excuse my PRO Sketching skills).

Step 3: What Are We Making?

We are trying to make a glove which has a tri color LED on top. When the student would close their hand the LED lights up. Pressing with a single finger can give RED, GREEN and BLUE color. A mixture of colors can be created when combination of fingers are pressing down.

Step 4: The Pattern

Once you have a basic idea of what you want and how your circuit would fit onto the structure, you can make a pattern. The AI file for the pattern has been attached, you can directly cut it out of fabric on the scan and cut. If you want the pattern to be adjusted to better fit your hand; print it out on a piece of A3 paper, cut it out, test it and alter it. To finish off the basic shape of the glove you will have to sew the two edges of the hand band together.

Step 5: Creating the Circuit With Conductive Fabric

To make the circuit we will have to understand it's working, We are connecting ground pin of the LED to the ground pin of the battery, now as soon as we connect the voltage pin of the battery to any of the 3 pins the circuit will light. The basic circuit is shown in the picture.

The 3 lines of the LEDs are connected to 3 strips of conductive fabric as shown. The ground pin of the LED connects to the GSA logo. You can use scan and cut machine to cut these designs, iron on some double sided 'Iron ON' fabric to the conductive fabric. Once the designs are in the right position you can iron them on to the glove.

The AI files for these designs are attached bellow.

Step 6: Placing the RGB LED

Bend out the cathode leg, and spread the other 3 legs as shown in the pictures. Use rounded needle nose pliers and curl up the ends of the pins.

Put the LED on your glove design, each leg should be touching one of the conductive fabric line. The LED legs must not touch each other.

Step 7: Stitching It Together

It is time to put it all together!

Cut 3 pieces of resistive fabric and stitch them at the edge of your band where the circuit is going to get completed. Don't forget to do that with a conductive thread. These pieces would act as pressure sensors when we press on them.

Next stitch the LED in the position it was placed in step 6, do this with the conductive thread.

Now you can stitch on the battery pack holder to the brace with regular thread (just to hold it in place).

Now connect the ground pin of the battery pack to the GSA logo (Or whatever design you are using).

The last connection you have to make is between the positive side of the battery pack and the folk shape that rests near your middle finger.

Your circuit is complete :) Put the battery in and try it on

Let me know what you think of the project and if you have any questions leave them in the comments.