Wearable Technology (+ a bit of Open Sourcery)
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The document discusses wearable technology and open source hardware. It describes how the availability of sewable electronics and open source communities have made electronics more accessible and inspired new creatives. Examples are given of wearable art projects created with sensors and microcontrollers like LilyPad Arduino. The document also summarizes workshops teaching wearable tech and coding to students, emphasizing how hands-on projects can get young people interested in electronics and coding.
Wearable Technology (+ a bit of Open Sourcery)
- 1. Wearable Technology (+ a bit of open sourcery) Open Source Hardware Camp, UK, 2012 Rain Ashford - http://rainycatz.wordpress.com
- 2. Hello, my name is Rain and I create interactive wearables and art, working with many flavours of microcontrollers & various components…
- 3. I’m interested in… Social interaction – formal and informal events where one is put on the spot/ excruciating circumstances: networking, bars, clubs, meet ups, introductions, conferences, etc. Building multi-sensor wearables which output data on the wearer’s physiological signs comprised of: a logging device sensors – tracking physiological signs: heart rate, accelerometer, temperature, etc. Actuators Visually reactive Sonically reactive Might record sound / feedback ‘Yr In Mah Face’: temperature /mood sensing t-shirt from user camera
- 4. Wearable technology is a diverse area, and can be fashionable, whimsical, fun, practical, arty, serious, protective, interactive, sensing, medical, energy harvesting, communicating, musical and lots more…
- 5. A quick tour: In the beginning… Wearable technology of yore: heavy, messy, angular & clunky
- 6. Beam me up Scotty… ..sci-fi has a lot to answer for!
- 7. But we’re moving on from when wearable tech evoked thoughts of axe grinding cyborgs, serf robots, toasters and space pirates…
- 8. Some people have obviously had too much sci-fi… “Let’s just hope that they all don’t show up at once.“ Anon ..but I digress!
- 9. Anyways I have tons of questions… What are we going to use Wearable Technology for? How will Open Source work with Wearable Tech industry? What about sustainability? OpenWear / open design? Interoperability vs proprietry? Will smartphones / computers end up integrated into our clothing? Ethics issues - who owns / has access to our data? Privacy & Surveillance How far will we get towards Cyborg culture - implants anyone? CuteCircuit M-Dress ..for another time!
- 10. The growth of hacker culture & communities has inspired a new group of creatives to evolve and enter the tech industries
- 11. ..a convergence of readily available electronic components, shared knowledge through communities and open source approaches to technology has broken barriers to learning & creativity
- 12. For me, the availability of sewable electronic & e-textiles has revolutionised the way I and many other artists & designers work
- 13. ..plus the styling of some of these components has made them more attractive to work with
- 14. LilyPad Arduino Microcontroller Conductive Thread E-Textiles C (ish) Programming Sensors Actuators Hacked Electronics Conductive items Wearables Sound Artworks Games All Interactive
- 15. LilyPad Arduino Microcontroller • Fabulousness • My wish list It’s sewable! An industrial version It’s open source – you can find Make it cheaper the Eagle files & free code More modules please libraries online / with IDE Different sizes and shapes of Good number of digital & board analogue I/O Choice of microcontrollers Great vector for encouraging Variable voltages girls/ boys /adults/ artists /anyone / to experience More competitors, to increase electronics innovation (Flora, Seeedstudio) It’s round (dismisses the idea that Development of washable electronics are sharp grey and conductive thread cold) Enthusiastic & helpful community
- 16. The miniaturization of technology has changed how people build & use wearable tech & electronics; they’re no longer comprised of cold, bulky sharp, boxy & ugly components that you might prefer to remain hidden
- 17. …allowing me create much more elegant work
- 18. …incorporating the technology into the design
- 19. The availability of sensors in particular that allowed me to bring my ideas to fruition
- 20. ..plus due to communties & individuals interested in sharing knowledge there’s lots of information out there to help you make your own!
- 21. Hacking existing tech & combining sensors has allowed me to make pieces such as ‘You Make My <3 Flutter’: a proximity detecting, heart rate sensing ‘techlace’
- 22. And for looking at social interaction -‘Yr In Mah Face’: temperature /mood sensing t-shirt - uses Celsius temperature data from a sensor, averages it, then visualises the results via LEDs.
- 23. I’m also interested in practical uses - Don’t Break My Heart is a wearable, colour-coded distance warning system prototype for cyclists to wear on their back
- 25. Summary: exciting time for e-textiles & wearable tech Availability of sewable electronics is revolutionising the work of artists & designers Hackspaces & online communities are helping demystify electronics & coding Open Source ethos is sharing & making knowledge more accessible Small Maker start-ups are changing the face of tech entrepreneurs Sewable electronics are inspiring a broader demographic to become interested in electronics & coding School age students are investigating electronics & code via e-textiles and wearable tech
- 26. Wearable tech workshops for 8-16 year olds for Technocamps, an initiative to encourage school children in Wales to try out various forms of computer & hardware based tech from robotics, game development, animation to forensics.
- 27. ..for schools in Aberystwyth, Lampeter & Cardigan, homeschoolers (mums came too!) & Saturday drop in club. Sophie & I show our Dragons to the MEP for Wales, Aberystwyth University & Technocamps dignitaries came to see what we were up to!
- 28. A big list of stuff the students learned about… Intro to wearable tech Functions E-textiles Variables Intro to Arduino & LilyPad Numbers: eg Intergers Video examples by others Delays can be so much fun! Communicating with computers via USB True / False states Arduino IDE Conditional s: If / else statements Compiling Loops Uploading Formatting is important! Power & Ground Serial monitor Ohm’s Law Drawing simple circuits Resistors Not to be afraid Sensors Learn from things not working Actuators Troubleshooting Analogue vs Digital Experimenting is good PWM Hacking isn’t bad! Circuits, inc Parallel & Series circuits You can personalise your work Short circuits You can work on your own or with friends Switches Forget about stereotypes Sewing with conductive thread Coding / Electronics isn’t gender specific Breadboards Invent stuff! Crocodile clips Have fun with code & electronics!
- 29. Ideas and work examples from Wearable Technology half day workshop & three-day Easter bootcamp. The students loved how they could personalise and control electronics very quickly by learning a few examples of code and following a few rules of circuitry!
- 30. Summary: get coding and hardware hacking into more schools! School age students enjoy investigating electronics & code via e-textiles and wearable tech Wearable tech as a vehicle fascinates school children as it allows them to use their imagination and come up with fantastic ideas Young people are very inquisitive and receptive to the principles of open source Giving students project examples that they can personalise gets them interested Don’t talk too long - show them straight away how to get a response from code and hardware Video examples give them ideas! Make workshops fun – find interesting analogies to describe what they’re going to do Don’t make lessons dull and worthy! Don’t try to make them touch each other in role playing games ;-)
- 31. Thank you for your attention! @Rainycat http://rainycatz.wordpress.com http://Rain Ashford 2012