Make: Wearable Electronics

Make: Wearable Electronics

by Kate Hartman
Released August 2014
Publisher(s): Make: Community
ISBN: 9781449336783

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

What if your clothing could change color to complement your skin tone, respond to your racing heartbeat, or connect you with a loved one from afar?

Welcome to the world of shoes that can dynamically shift your height, jackets that display when the next bus is coming, and neckties that can nudge your business partner from across the room. Whether it be for fashion, function, or human connectedness, wearable electronics can be used to design interactive systems that are intimate and engaging.

Make: Wearable Electronics is intended for those with an interest in physical computing who are looking to create interfaces or systems that live on the body. Perfect for makers new to wearable tech, this book introduces you to the tools, materials, and techniques for creating interactive electronic circuits and embedding them in clothing and other things you can wear.

Each chapter features experiments to get you comfortable with the technology and then invites you to build upon that knowledge with your own projects. Fully illustrated with step-by-step instructions and images of amazing creations made by artists and professional designers, this book offers a concrete understanding of electronic circuits and how you can use them to bring your wearable projects from concept to prototype.

Publisher resources

View/Submit Errata

Table of contents

  1. Dedication
  2. Preface
    1. About The Book
    2. Who This Book Is For
    3. What You Need to Know
    4. How This Book Is Organized
    5. About the Title
    6. About Experiments and Projects
    7. About the Examples
    8. About Part Numbers
    9. What Was Left Out
    10. Experiment: Imagined Wearable
    11. Conventions Used in This Book
    12. Using Code Examples
    13. Safari® Books Online
    14. How to Contact Us
    15. Acknowledgments
  3. 1. Circuits
    1. Circuit Basics
      1. Ohm’s Law
      2. Understanding Resistors
      3. Series and Parallel
      4. Determining Polarity
      5. Using a Multimeter
        1. Continuity
        2. Resistance
        3. Voltage
        4. Current
      6. More About Circuits
    2. Constructing Circuits
      1. Alligator Clip Circuit
      2. Wire Circuit
      3. Breadboard Circuit
      4. Protoboard Circuit
      5. Conductive Thread Circuit
      6. Conductive Fabric Circuit
      7. Advantages and Disadvantages
    3. Conclusion
  4. 2. Conductive Materials
    1. Conventional Conductors
      1. Alligator Clips
      2. Wire
        1. Solid core wire
        2. Stranded wire
        3. Grouped wire
      3. Breadboards
      4. Protoboard
    2. Conductive Thread
      1. Properties of Conductive Thread
      2. Working with Conductive Thread
      3. Types of Conductive Thread
    3. Conductive Fabric
      1. Properties of Conductive Fabric
      2. Working with Conductive Fabric
      3. Types of Conductive Fabrics
    4. Other Conductive Materials
      1. Conductive Yarn
      2. Conductive Fiber
      3. Conductive Felt
      4. Conductive Ribbon
      5. Conductive Fabric Tape
      6. Conductive Hook and Loop
      7. Conductive Paint
      8. Everyday Stuff
    5. Choosing Conductive Materials
    6. Experiment: Wearable Circuits
    7. What’s Next
  5. 3. Switches
    1. Understanding Switches
      1. Poles and Throws
      2. Types of Switches
    2. Off-the-Shelf Switches
      1. Tactile Buttons
      2. Latching Buttons
      3. Toggle Switches
      4. Slide Switches
      5. Microswitches
      6. Tilt Switches
    3. DIY Switches
      1. Sandwich Switch
      2. Contact Switch
      3. Bridge Switch
      4. Pinch Switch
      5. Other DIY Switches
    4. Experiment: Social Switches
    5. Conclusion
  6. 4. E-Textile Toolkits
    1. LilyPad
      1. Modules
      2. Experiment: Let’s Get Twinkly
      3. Experiment: Let’s Get Tiny
    2. Flora
      1. Modules
    3. Aniomagic
      1. Modules
      2. Experiment: Let’s Get Sparkly
    4. Thinking Beyond
  7. 5. Making Electronics Wearable
    1. Why Wear It
    2. What Makes Something Wearable
      1. Comfort
        1. Size, weight, and shape
        2. Placement
      2. Durability
        1. Strain relief
        2. Insulation
        3. Modularity
        4. Protection
      3. Usability
      4. Aesthetics
    3. Designing a Wearable
      1. Choosing a Form
        1. Hacking wearables
        2. Making wearables
      2. Choosing Materials
      3. Choosing Components
      4. Creating a Layout
      5. Iterative Design
    4. Experiment: Eight-Hour Wearable
  8. 6. Microcontrollers
    1. Hardware
    2. Software
    3. Hello World
      1. Experiment: Gettin’ Blinky
    4. Digital Output
      1. The Circuit
      2. The Code
      3. Power
      4. Experiment: Morse Code Messages
    5. Digital Input
      1. The Circuit
      2. The Code
      3. Experiment: Button as Controller
    6. Analog Input
      1. The Circuit
      2. The Code
      3. Experiment: Sensor as a Switch
    7. Analog Output
      1. The Circuit
      2. The Code
      3. Experiment: Sensitive System
    8. What’s Next
  9. 7. Sensors
    1. Working with Sensors
      1. Getting to Know Your Sensor
      2. Voltage Divider Circuit
      3. Communicating with I2C
    2. Working with Sensor Data
      1. Thresholds
      2. Mapping
      3. Calibration
      4. Constraining
      5. Smoothing
      6. Experiment: Wooo! Shirt
    3. What to Sense
      1. Flex
      2. Force
      3. Stretch
      4. Movement, Orientation, and Location
      5. Heart Rate and Beyond
      6. Proximity
      7. Light
      8. Color
      9. Sound
      10. Temperature
      11. DIY Sensors
      12. Experiment: Body Listening
    4. Other Sensors
  10. 8. Actuators
    1. Light
      1. Basic LEDs
      2. Addressable LEDs
        1. One NeoPixel example
        2. Multiple pixel example
      3. Fiber Optics
      4. Electroluminescent Materials
      5. Experiment: Be Safe, Be Seen
    2. Sound
      1. Buzzers
        1. Simple circuit
        2. Buzzer with microcontroller
      2. Tones
        1. Circuit
        2. Code
      3. Audio Files
      4. Experiment: Wearable Instrument
    3. Motion
      1. Vibrating Motors
      2. Servo Motors
      3. Gearhead Motors
      4. Experiment: Shake, Spin, or Shimmy
    4. Temperature
      1. Fans
      2. Heat
      3. Experiment: It’s Gettin’ Hot in Here
    5. Conclusion
  11. 9. Wireless
    1. Bluetooth
      1. Experiment: Communicating with Bluetooth
        1. Prepare the LilyPad Simple Power board
        2. Solder headers to the Bluetooth Mate
        3. Program the LilyPad
        4. Prepairing to pair
        5. Pairing on a Mac
        6. Pairing on a Windows machine
        7. Sending light sensor data
    2. Hello XBees
      1. Configuring XBees
        1. Configure XBee “A”
        2. Configure XBee “B”
        3. Experiment: Chat Test
      2. Experiment: XBee and Arduino
        1. Solder FTDI headers
        2. Connect the Light Sensor
        3. Program the Arduino
        4. Prepare the circuit
        5. Prepare XBee “B”
        6. Connect
      3. Experiment: XBee Direct Mode
        1. Configure the XBees
        2. Circuit
        3. Connect
        4. Troubleshooting
    3. Other Wireless Options
    4. Thinking Beyond
  12. A. Tools
    1. Electronics
      1. Soldering Iron
      2. Safety Glasses
      3. Desoldering Tools
      4. Helping Hands
      5. Wire Strippers
      6. Flat-Nosed Pliers
      7. Small Snips
      8. Multimeter
      9. Heat Gun
      10. Screwdrivers
      11. Compartment Boxes
    2. Sewing
      1. Needles
      2. Needle Threader
      3. Seam Ripper
      4. Pins
      5. Scissors
      6. Iron
      7. Measuring Tools
      8. Thread and Fabric
      9. Embroidery Hoops
    3. Documentation
      1. Camera
      2. Tripod
  13. B. Batteries
    1. Types of Batteries
    2. Battery Holders and Connectors
    3. Factors to Consider
  14. C. Resources
    1. Where to Shop
    2. For Your Bookshelf
    3. For Your Bookmarks
    4. Where to Learn
  15. D. Other Neat Things
    1. Materials
      1. Reflective Materials
      2. Glow-in-the-Dark Materials
      3. Shape Memory Materials
      4. Thermochromic Pigments
      5. Moldable Materials
    2. Rapid Prototyping Techniques
      1. Digital Fabric Printing
      2. Lasercutting
      3. 3D Printing
      4. Printed Circuit Board
  16. E. Microcontroller Options
    1. LilyPad Sewable Microcontrollers
      1. LilyPad Arduino 328
      2. LilyPad Arduino Simple Board
      3. LilyPad Arduino SimpleSnap
      4. LilyPad Arduino USB
    2. Adafruit Sewable Microcontrollers
      1. Flora Main Board
      2. Gemma
    3. Other Microcontrollers
      1. Arduino Uno
      2. Arduino Micro
      3. Arduino FIO
  17. Index
  18. About the Author
  19. Colophon
  20. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: Make: Wearable Electronics
  • Author(s): Kate Hartman
  • Release date: August 2014
  • Publisher(s): Make: Community
  • ISBN: 9781449336783