Divya
This week Summer finish sewing the shoulder panels on to my jacket. I also painted my photochromic patch of a bear to turn from white to orange red.
I also met with Mary to talk about my electronic layout, she was happy with my plan and suggested I use lilypad twinkle boards for the panels, and she agreed. As far as my electronics I plan to sew the LED's on with conductive thread, so it blends into the pattern to a snap. The other side of the snap will be soldered to silicone wire, all attached to a piece of fabric. This will allow the fabric to be a barrier between the wire and the user. This also will allow for the wires and micro controller to be removed if the jacket needs to be washed. The LED's and conductive thread however can only withstand a couple washes. The microcontroller and lithium battery will be kept in the inside pocket. The battery can also be recharged through the microcontroller. I also plan to insulate the conductive thread with clear nailpolish.
I tested the twinkle board with two LED’s and drew out my plan for the LED’s for each panel.
Sophie
This week, I continued to work on finishing the painting of each planet. I have finished all the UV pigment painting and am just waiting on the arrival of a few more glow in the dark pigments to add the final touches to each planet. I also started coding the PWM animation for my LEDs.
Summer
In addition to adding the panels to Divya's jacket, I also finished all the seams so that they would stay permanent, so now her jacket is ready for electronic assembly.
This week I started playing around with the layout of some of the patches I've painted already on my jackets to find a good layout. I have a rudimentary start on my design, which involves a sun/moon. Now I am trying to think of how to use my sew-able leds in a way that flatters the layout of my design.
I plan on painting the above flower in moon white then again with glow in the dark pigments. I've also bought some different samples of tubing, from McGuckins in Boulder, to connect the leds to our fiber optics, which will outline the moon. I've also ordered more glow in the dark pigments to use on our jackets. In general, I'm a little overwhelmed with my four other classes to spend a ton of time to decide what I really want to make, but I am also happy that I haven't committed to a design yet because I love to have creative freedom during the fabrication process and since sketches don't always translate to cute designs. As well my top priority is making sure my teammate's jackets get done sooner so that I can focus on my own. Because of this, I am not worried about finishing our project.
For Next Week
Add glow in the dark pigment to Sophie's planets
Layout and start assembling circuit for Sophie
Connect LEDs to fiber optics
Code the PWM animation on Sophie's LEDs
Paint flowers on Divya's jacket and start sewing and start building circuits
Summer: be a creative genius and find a healthy way to blow off steam.