ENTERING A NEW ERA :)
As the first official week of work on my final assignment, a lot of changes to the weekly routine have come in place, as well as the NEED to have a tight planning and a routine to ensure I keep my productivity constant. After the crazy assignment weeks, it's now basically up to me whether I motivate myself to work or not. Together with my tutor, we decided to articulate the project through the SCRUM approach (more on this later). This method will clarify the deliverables within the project and make it more bit sized and quantifiable in terms of goals, achievements and moments of stuck. Lets do it!
INSPIRATION
As the IO<3 - Connect to your Heart garment becomes more tangible, the inspiration is now going more granularly in the direction of:
- FORM FACTOR: What will it look like?
- INTERACTION: How will it behave?
- EFFECT: How will the user feel about it, and why?
For this 1st sprint, the goal is to have one working prototype (MVP) and I will focus on a garment for woman. The inspiration comes from the brassiere, the bralette, the top, a garment that can enclose the rib case tightly yet in a comfortable and beautiful way. The inspiration for the design stems from the anemones and the underwater, as well as tiny cells. Combined with the feminine sensuality of lace, and geometric influences from parametric design (Put photos of anemones, voronoi looking stuff and lace).
OBJECTIVES & PLAN
One word. SCRUM.
ACUPRESSURE POINTS
I decided to use acupressure points because they are relevant in healing stress and anxiety by pressing on them while breathing deeply. My decision was to utilize the points:
TW 15 - Triple Warmer 15 is a frequently used acupressure point for anxiety treatment that helps to relax nervousness and palpitations in an effective manner. This point is termed the Heavenly Rejuvenation, and it is located on both the shoulders, midway between the base of the neck and outside of the shoulders, one-half inch below the top of the shoulders.
K 27 - Kidney 27 which is an extremely popular acupressure point for treating various types of diseases and health issues. This point is called the Shu Mansion, and it is situated under the collarbone in the hollow adjacent to the breastbone.
CV 17 - Conception Vessel 17 is one of the vital acupressure points for heart that helps to alleviate anxiety, nervousness and palpitation of the heart. This point is termed the Sea of Tranquillity, and it is found in the middle of the breastbone, three thumb widths up from the lower edge of the bone. It can be activated by pressing the point firmly using the thumbs for 1 to 2 minutes while breathing deeply, slowly and evenly.
My goal is to put a pressure sensor and vibration motor on each point so, in case of stress, the user can press on the desired point (or multiple ones) to calm themselves as they breath deeply.
CREATING THE ELECTRONIC SCHEMATIC
INGREDIENTS
- Sketch software
- Google search
PROCEDURE
To sketch the electronics schematics, I used the software Sketch, a digital 2D design software similar to Illustrator. I reproduced the pieces I needed to put in the circuit, by looking at how they looked on Google. The initial idea is to create a garment with 7 pressure sensors and vibration motors corresponding to acupressure points.
RESULTS & REFLECTIONS
Because I don't know yet if I will need any resistors, transistors or other pieces of electronics, I didn't add all the electronic connections. I will update this diagram by the end of the project. For now this gives me a clear enough picture of how I will assemble my garment, to inform my initial BOM.
MAKING THE BOM
INGREDIENTS
- Google spreadsheets
- Google search
PROCEDURE
Once the main schematic was created, I made the BOM for the MVP on Google Spreadsheets so my tutor could place the orders for what wasn't already available at the Fablab. Some of the material would take a few weeks to get to Merida, such as stretchable conductive textiles and the vibration motors, so the sooner done the better. At the Fablab we have a lot of different electronic components so for the resistors and other not so specific electronics pieces we could source them easily here.
RESULTS & REFLECTIONS
Making a BOM is a critical step to start a project, especially one that is complex like this one. And depending on your Fablab's geographical location, some pieces may take a while to arrive, so do keep that in mind!
EXPERIMENTING WITH PRESSURE SENSORS
- SPARKFUN FORCE RESISTIVE SENSOR 0.5
- DIY VELOSTAT PRESSURE SENSOR
SPARKFUN FORCE RESISTIVE SENSOR 0.5
INGREDIENTS
- Sparkfun Force Resisitive Sensor 0.5
- Breadboard
- Jumpers
- 3.3kOhm resistor
- Arduino UNO board
PROCEDURE
I used this tutorial found on Sparkfun's website to hook up the sensor to the Arduino. The tutorial was fairly easy and it displayed a nice dataset on Serial monitor, with the Resistance and estimated pressure calculations.
RESULTS & REFLECTIONS
The pressure sensor from Sparkfun works great, it's really small and thin and has a great resistance difference. The price of it is not the cheapest and for this project it's my decision to make a homemade pressure sensor.
DIY VELOSTAT PRESSURE SENSOR
INGREDIENTS
- Velostat
- Thick Paper
- Copper Tape
- Alligator Clips
- Breadboard
- Jumpers
- 3.3k Ohm Resistor
- Arduino UNO board
PROCEDURE
In order to make the pressure sensor, I used exactly the same procedure used in Week 5 - E-Textiles and Wearables I. I made the size of the pressure sensors smaller and changed the shape. I hooked the sensor to the alligator clips and then to the same circuit I used for the Sparkfun sensor.
RESULTS & REFLECTIONS
No remarkable difference came from changing the size and shape of the pressure sensor from Week 5. The sensor works smoothly yet doesn't have values as stable as the Sparkfun one. My goal is to use the Velostat in combination with the stretch conductive fabric, but as i wait for it to arrive, I am practicing with this one.