Stark Art

Initial Design

For my final project in wearable technologies I want to integrate an equalizer display into a sweater that works with a phone. I’m going to be using LED’s running up the front of the garment that receives a signal based on what is playing on an android phone using an ioio micro controller. Here’s a basic design of what I’m going for…

It turned out nothing like this initial design, so I’ll show you the process.

Description

LED-WE explores the realm of audio visualization, translating audio frenquencies into light patterns displayed on a sweater. It uses a IOIO-OTG board with a bluetooth connector to interact with an android phone, sending it the audio data from the music playing.

Materials

Grey sweater
6 of each colour superbright LED: red, yellow, green, and blue
3 lengths of insulated conductive ribbon
12 ribbon connectors
2 10 pin headers
2 6 pin headers
IOIO-OTG board
Bluetooth connector
9V Battery
Connector bit for 9V to the IOIO board
Electrical Tape
Thick precut wire (not necessary to have precut, but had them available)
Neoprene
and lots of patience.

Process

Whiteboard basic schematics of how it’s all going to fit together.

 
Using my LED diffusion techniques, I created 24 button-lie LEDs for my sweater.

  
I then used my make-shift iron to iron the conductive fabric on, which is my grounding for the project.

I ripped apart all my pin headers (which turned out no so good..) and took the clamping ribbon pins out of their holders for individual pins to work with.

 
I stuck the LED’s legs through the sweater, curled the negative leg into a loop and stitched the loop to the conductive fabric with conductive thread.

To attach the insulated conductive ribbon, I used the clamp pins I pulled out of the cases to solder the LED positive leg to, and used electrical tape to keep it from shorting.

I then soldered all my niblets together to make wire-resistor-clamp pins for the end of my ribbon which will attach to the IOIO-OTG. It looked like a bouquet. This took a lot of patience..

 
I clamped the pins onto the end of the ribbon and plugged them into the pin headers I soldered onto the ioio.

Trying it on!

Video of testing the LEDs

This is at the Technosapien show. I pulled out the final setup to show how it all worked. It also shows the neoprene patch I made to situate the board, bluetooth and battery on.

Me with my project at the show!

Code

I was using processing for android to program my project, but I found out late in the game that a music library did not exist for processing for android and so I coded something that could turn on the LEDs individually. Everything was coded and when I tried to upload it to my phone, there was another driver install issue (I had one before trying to install a driver for my IOIO) so I am convinced that it’s the fault of my refurbished laptop, because it works fine on other computers. When I met my friend at the show, I borrowed his laptop to upload the sketch to my phone and it worked for a second and crashed. I looked up the error code but I couldn’t figure it out before the show started. My friend Boris then downloaded a program to his phone to code right from the phone and managed to get a few LEDs to light up. So here is my code that should have worked.

Tab 1:

import ioio.lib.util.*;
import ioio.lib.impl.*;
import ioio.lib.api.*;
import ioio.lib.api.exception.*;

int w, h, w4, h6;
int bh1, bh2, bh3, bh4, bh5, bh6;
int bw1, bw2, bw3, bw4, bw5, bw6;

//LEDS
boolean lightOn = false;

IOIO ioio = IOIOFactory.create();
myIOIOThread thread1;
void setup() {
thread1 = new myIOIOThread(“thread1″, 100);
thread1.start();

w=displayWidth;
h=displayHeight;
w4= w/4;
//button widths
bw1=w4-30;
bw2=bw1*2;
bw3=bw1*3;
bw4=bw1*4;

h6= h/6;
//button heights
bh1= h6-20;
bh2= bh1*2;
bh3= bh1*3;
bh4= bh1*4;
bh5= bh1*5;
bh6= bh1*6;
size(displayWidth, displayHeight);
background(10, 95, 130);
}

void draw() {

//visualizer space
rectMode(CENTER);
strokeWeight(2);
fill(7, 30, 50);
rect(w/2, h/2, w-20, h-20);

//bar 1
bar(bw1, bh1, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw2, bh1, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw3, bh1, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw4, bh1, 255, 255, 255);

//bar2
bar(bw1, bh2, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw2, bh2, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw3, bh2, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw4, bh2, 255, 255, 255);

//bar3
bar(bw1, bh3, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw2, bh3, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw3, bh3, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw4, bh3, 255, 255, 255);

//bar4
bar(bw1, bh4, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw2, bh4, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw3, bh4, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw4, bh4, 255, 255, 255);

//bar5
bar(bw1, bh5, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw2, bh5, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw3, bh5, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw4, bh5, 255, 255, 255);

//bar6
bar(bw1, bh6, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw2, bh6, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw3, bh6, 255, 255, 255);
bar(bw4, bh6, 255, 255, 255);
}

void bar(int posX, int posY, int r, int g, int b) {
strokeWeight(2);
fill(r, g, b);
rect(posX, posY, 50, 100);
}

void mouseClicked() {
//button check
if (bw1-25 > mouseX && mouseX < bw1+25) {
if (bh1-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw1+50) {
if (lightOn == true) {
lightOn = false;
}
else if (lightOn == false) {
lightOn = true;
}
}
if (bh2-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw2+50) {
}
if (bh3-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw3+50) {
}
if (bh4-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw4+50) {
}
if (bh5-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw5+50) {
}
if (bh6-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw6+50) {
}
}
if (bw2-25 > mouseX && mouseX <bw2+25 ) {
if (bh1-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw1+50) {
}
if (bh2-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw2+50) {
}
if (bh3-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw3+50) {
}
if (bh4-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw4+50) {
}
if (bh5-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw5+50) {
}
if (bh6-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw6+50) {
}
}
if ( bw3-25> mouseX && mouseX <bw3+25 ) {
if (bh1-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw1+50) {
}
if (bh2-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw2+50) {
}
if (bh3-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw3+50) {
}
if (bh4-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw4+50) {
}
if (bh5-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw5+50) {
}
if (bh6-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw6+50) {
}
}
if (bw4-25 > mouseX && mouseX < bw4+25) {
if (bh1-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw1+50) {
}
if (bh2-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw2+50) {
}
if (bh3-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw3+50) {
}
if (bh4-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw4+50) {
}
if (bh5-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw5+50) {
}
if (bh6-50 > mouseX && mouseX < bw6+50) {
}
}
}

Tab 2

/* This is our thread class, it’s a subclass of the standard thread class that comes with Processing
* we’re not really doing anything dramatic, just using the start and run methods to control our interactions with the IOIO board
*/

class myIOIOThread extends Thread {

boolean running; //is our thread running?
String id; //in case we want to name our thread
int wait; //how often our thread should run
DigitalOutput led; //DigitalOutput type for the onboard led
int count; //if we wanted our thread to timeout, we could put a counter on it, I don’t use it in this sketch
int ledpin = 3;

//our constructor
myIOIOThread(String s, int w) {

id = s;
wait = w;
running = false;
count = 0;
}

//override the start method
void start() {
running = true;

//try connecting to the IOIO board, handle the case where we cannot or the connection is lost
try {
IOIOConnect(); //this function is down below and not part of the IOIO library
}
catch (ConnectionLostException e) {
}

//try setting our led pin to the onboard led, which has a constant ‘LED_PIN’ associated with it
try {
led = ioio.openDigitalOutput(IOIO.LED_PIN);
}
catch (ConnectionLostException e) {
}

//don’t forget this
super.start();
}

//start automatically calls run for you
void run() {

//while our sketch is running, keep track of the lightOn boolean, and turn on or off the led accordingly
while (running) {
//count++;

//again, we have to catch a bad connection exception
try {
led.write(lightOn);
}
catch (ConnectionLostException e) {
}

try {
sleep((long)(wait));
}
catch (Exception e) {
}
}
}

//often we may want to quit or stop or thread, so I include this here but I’m not using it in this sketch
void quit() {
running = false;
ioio.disconnect();
interrupt();
}

//a simple little method to try connecting to the IOIO board
void IOIOConnect() throws ConnectionLostException {

try {
ioio.waitForConnect();
}
catch (IncompatibilityException e) {
}
}
}

Here’s my most recent project in wearables! We had been given a kit with a custom printed circuit board, an xbee chip, a vibrating motor, a battery, and a switch and we were told to incorporate it into a piece of clothing for our project. These things are a plug and play kind of thing and what happens is you are paired up with a partner and when one presses their switch, it nudges the other by vibrating the motor. It’s pretty neat but it’s more of a play project than practical. The idea is that if you want to discreetly get someone’s attention for whatever reason, say if you want to leave, if you want them to save you from an awkward situation, or if you want them to stop talking about that subject, then you can press your switch subtly and nudge them.

I decided one of the most versatile options would be to incorporate it into a bra so that I could wear it with any clothing, even in a dress. So here is my project and the process.

Materials:
1 bra with padding
1 nudgables kit
1 Lillypad vibrating motor
1 push button switch
2 no sew snaps
some neoprene with padding (dollar store laptop case)
some leftover fabric from my first project
conductive thread
regular thread
Clear Nail Polish
Hot Glue

Process:

Sewed a push button switch into a fabric and neoprene pack with snaps as connectors.

Cut the wire from the kit and looped the ends for thread to be stitched on. Stitched conductive thread from the switch snaps to the connector for the nudgeable hardware.

Took my own vibrating motor (it’s totally a rumble pak) and soldered loops to the ends. The loops broke so I ended up using a Lillypad motor instead.

Sewed together a pouch for my nudgeables kit and tucked the battery and control board inside. I also cut a hole in the pouch to access the on/off switch.

The finished circuit, with the nudgables kit detached.  I put hot glue dots on the knotted ends of the conductive thread to stop it from scratching against my skin.

Finished piece on a mannequin.

Testing!
1: nudging
2:being nudged O.o

Testing it was a lot of fun, we went out and had crepes with a group of people and in the noisy environment it was a useful tool for getting the other person’s attention. We also tested it in an even noisier bar and it was even more effective

For my thesis class I was instructed to bring in and write about all of my interests. I’m just going to compile a list and write a little blurb on each with maybe a few photos of examples or previous work I’ve done in that area. There’s a lot, so prepare for a long list.

Nutrition

I generally try to eat healthy, which is hard in a fast food world, but I have recently changed my diet to being wheat-free. I read the book wheat belly (as I’ve read many of my mothers diet books) but this one made a lot of sense to me, so I’ve been (not totally but trying) wheat-free since August 2012. It’s been very difficult to find foods on the go that don’t have wheat in them, so I’ve been forced to learn how to cook food at home (shocking I know). So I’ve been preparing stir-fry’s and using my slow cooker a lot more recently. I try to prepare a lot of food at one time and freeze it so I can have meals through the week that I just have to heat up, but are still healthy.

Here’s a link to the wheat-free blog for recipe’s and such: wheatbellyblog.com

Reading Fiction

One of my favourite series (books and tv show) is Dexter. I’m fascinated as to how the author goes about making a usually hated or misunderstood character loved and adored by it’s audience. His writing technique really immerses you into the book’s characters and situations and has you empathizing with a very unusual character. My favourite book was the third, Dexter in the Dark, because it plays with ancient mythical demons and Dexter feeling uneasy about his “dark passenger” (the second being or nature inside him) abruptly deserting him. I’ve read all but the sixth book and watched every series so far. I’m looking forward to the final season (#8) happening in June this year.

Page Layout/Design

I sometimes do business page layouts, pamphlets, flyers, posters, invitations etc. for anything that pops up that my mother or I need done. I worked on a team in highschool to create my graduating yearbook and I was the creative director, which planned out the overall theme and approved the design of pages and such. I’m a perfectionist so I have a really good eye for detail, but sometimes I focus too much on the little things. Usually I’m pretty good at managing the big and little things though, but I always make sure to do a quick overview edit and decide with the amount of time I have what things can be fixed to my standards.

This poster is something I did for the yearbook class in 2009.

(click to enlarge)

Web Design

I have been creating random webpages since I was in the 6th or 7th grade when piczo was a thing. My brother taught me my first lines of code in a txt file. I just host this website off of the WordPress technology because it’s convenient, but I plan to make a proper portfolio site at some point. I took a web design class in my 2nd year and my projects can be found here. Currently I am making a website for my sister’s wedding so people can RSVP, see the information for the wedding day, and have the option to put money towards different gift registry items.

Webcomics

I’ve been reading several webcomics since the 9th grade and my love of the genre is always expanding. It’s always been my dream to create one of my own, and do it as a side project for a while. First semester of this year (3rd year) I took a creative writing course to get more comfortable writing and brainstorming in literature form. I wrote my first and second chapter of my webcomic for my final project in that course and I will continue to expand on that in my spare time. This semester I am taking a character design course to help me develop my characters for this comic as well as develop characters for video game design.

Here are a few of the excellent webcomics I read (mostly SFW):

Girls With Slingshots
Strays
D 0 0 R
Dominic Deegan
(The artwork isn’t great in the last one, but the story line is phenomenal.)

Vocals

I have been taking singing lessons for about 10 years now, and no one knows it. Its more of a therapy hobby than a pursuit. I have sung in churches and some events, I even sang at my brothers wedding and will be at my sisters this summer as well, but I’m terrified of singing in front of people, so it’s more of a personal hobby. My sister is a disney girl so I’m thinking of singing “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”

3D Printing & Laser cutting

Last semester I did a co-op where we designed a prototype for a store display. I built the CAD model and had it 3D printed for the company. It was a fun process and I loved the results. I would like to do more 3D printing in the future for maybe some electrical component projects. I’ve also done some laser cutting in my time at OCAD and I like having the precise results that I need without slaving over it by hand. There’s been so many situations where laser cutting has come in handy for many different projects.

This is the chair I did for my co-op

Electronics

In my first year at OCAD I started getting into electronics and during my second year I had a couple courses in it and found that I really enjoyed working with them. I didn’t take any electronics courses last semester and missed it so much. I worked a project into another class that used electronics, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy me, so I switched into wearable technology this semester.

Some projects here in this post

YouTube Vlogging

I have wanted to start my own vlog channel on YouTube for about a year now (since I started watching other vloggers) and I have finally posted my first video, yey!

Here’s my channel: Starks08

Scrapbooking & Card making

I’ve been scrapbooking for a few years now, and I am always gathering paper, stickers, little objects to stick on like buttons and flowers. It has helped me get more creative with layouts and colour schemes, as before I would always align things perfectly. I also like making cards with most of the same materials as scrapbooking, and will give them out to family and friends for different occasions. It’s more personal, and I don’t have to spend 10 dollars on a card

Sewing

I took sewing classes through elementary school and reached level 5 of sewing. I made many projects over the years including my grade 8 grad dress. My sewing skills will come in handy for my wearable technologies course this semester too. I also made a Mario hat out of upholstery fabric from my last job for this past Halloween.

Screenprinting/Printmaking

In first year I got a taste of printmaking through an elective course and fell in love with the process. I took screenprinting in my second year because I wanted to make lots of cards, and putting my artwork on a lot of things is easy with screenprinting. I started experimenting more this year, but my main focus with screenprinting is the same, cards. I’m planning on setting up my own screenprinting studio in my house so I can do just that, print cards. I might sell some on Etsy or something. My screen at home will only be 12″x16″ so making it portable won’t be hard, that way I can store it away while I’m not using it.

Postcard Example

Budgeting/Finances/Numbers

My mother runs a financial course from her home called Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey and it covers extensively how to be smart with your money. I love making spreadsheets, calculating budgets and just being organized in general. I’d like to create some apps to help with numbers so I can manage my finances easily and efficiently.

App Design

I’m very interested in learning how to program apps. It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a while, and sort of got into it last summer when I worked for a lady who owned an app building company called Appsmakerstore. I designed some apps for prospective clients through a pre-built interface, but ultimately the company deal fell through. It left me with an inspiration to create apps, and I want to solve my daily organizational issues through them.

Videogame Design

I’ve been a gamer all my life, since I could hold a Nintendo controller and it’s always been my dream to design them myself. It took me until highschool to reveal to my peers that I was in fact a gamer/nerd because I hadn’t met any other girls who liked to play games so I was very secretive about my hobby. In grade 10 I took a week long level design course at Durham college and the advanced course the following week as well. I loved it so much that I went back the next summer and did the advanced level design course again. I have had a yearning to design games since that point, but it hasn’t been until now that it has been a possible reality. I took creative writing last semester to help me with script writing and storyline in video game development and I’m taking character design this semester to help with the visual designs. This is an area that I would really like to pursue and it also includes working with quite a few of my different interests.

I’m taking a project that I did in first year Time Based Media and making it into a sweater that glows with fiber optics. Unfortunately my project was tossed and I have no documentation for it, so I drew a little picture of it’s basic functions.

It was supposed to be a kinetic sculpture but I was new at electronics and such and so I had to physically operate it. I would pump up the balloon (which wouldn’t stay inflated because it was not a proper seal) and when it was fully inflated I would turn on the LED lights which would light up in the center of the balloon and the tips of the branches. I forget the concept exactly, but I always look at trees and think that’s kind of what veins look like in the human body, so I took this and built a sculpture. When the heart was fully inflated it was as if the heart was at “full capacity” and so everything would be turned on and fully functional.

Now I’m going to take this sculpture and make a really cliche sweater that lights up a pattern of fiber optics when you zip it up. It is my first wearables project so I decided to make it an easy one, but I plan to do it very polished and slick, without wires sticking out or being bulky.