Introduction: The FitMitt

By 8 Bits and a Byte
About: Hi, we’re Dane & Nicole, two makers that create stuff, which we happily share with you!

Do you also have troubles staying healthy? Do you need something to motivate you to exercise? Try the FitMitt: a mitt to keep you fit!

Supplies

Supplies:

  • Adafruit Circuit Playground
  • LiPo Battery
  • Mittens or fabric to make mittens

Tools:

  • Sewing machine (if you want to make your own mittens)

Step 1: Project Video

Step 2: Circuit Playground

For the fit part of this project, we’re programming an Adafruit Circuit Playground to be annoying when you don’t move it enough, as this will encourage you to exercise.

Every 0.1 seconds, the code checks the X, Y and Z motions using the accelerometer. If the motion values are different enough from the previous values, the Circuit Playground has been moved and you’ve presumably been active! When this happens, the 10 LEDs will turn green one by one, indicating you’ve been very healthy (for the past second).

However, if you don’t move and the current X, Y and Z motion values are the same as the previous values, the LEDs will flash red and an annoying tone will be played.

The code to do all of this has been added to this step.

WARNING! The annoyingness of this project will quite possibly drive you mad! Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Attachments

Step 3: Mittens

For the mitt part, there are a number of options. You can use existing mittens or you can create your own.

We used some horrible old fabric and followed this Fleece Fun tutorial to create the most horrendous mittens you can imagine.

Step 4: The FitMitt

To complete the FitMitt, we quickly stitched the Circuit Playground to the top of the left mitten. We used a LiPo battery to power it, and tucked the battery in between our wrist and the elastic band of the mitten.

There we go, a great device that motivates you to exercise and stay healthy!