Badgeduino
The Edge Jan 2018
Summary
Participants will create a wearable electronic badge. The badge has a programmable 8×8 LED Matrix display with a re-chargable battery, a laser-cut frame, with a weather resistant hand-made vacuum formed shell.
This workshop was initially developed for the Flying Arts program ArtizINNOVATE@theEdge in June 2017, then run at Woodford Folk Festival 2017/2018. This version was adapted to run in-house at SLQ The Edge in 2018.
What is wearable technology/wearables?
Wearables are smart electronic devices (electronic device with micro-controllers) that can be worn on the body as implants or accessories 1)
Image by Pebble Technology CC BY-SA 1.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Wearable technology should be:
robust
reliable
simple to operate
small enough to wear
This workshop is designed to be an accessible introduction to electronics assembly.
we have chosen a simple design with:
Skills Introduced
high level overview of circuit and components
case assembly and wiring between components
vacuum Forming
coding in the Arduino IDE
Materials
Electronics
Case
Case | 1 | $4 | In-house |
m2.5 X 12mm bolt | 2 | 0.02 | in-house |
m2.5 x 25mm bolt | 2 | 0.02 | in-house and Shell |
m2.5 nut | 6 | 0.06 | in-house |
Attachment / Clip / Lanyard | 1 | $0.22 | AliExpress |
| TOTAL: | $4.32 | |
Shell
Material | Quantity | Cost | Supplier |
Milk bottle sheets | 2 | $? | In-house |
Introduction to Arduino Microcontrollers
What is a micro controller?
A microcontroller (or MCU for microcontroller unit) is a small computer on a single integrated circuit.
one or more CPUs (processor cores)
memory
programmable input/output peripherals
can be mixed signal devices interacting with
digital signals
analog singals
Why use an MCU?
Microcontrollers are small, low powered and robust, making them perfect for embedded systems such as;
medical devices
remote controls
office machines
appliances
power tools
toys
wearables!
What is Arduino?
Arduino is an open source computer hardware and software company, project, and user community 2) .
the hardware is based on the Amtel 8-bit AVR MCU
the software uses the Processing IDE, with a simplified version of the C++ language.
open source has led to the creation of a huge range of
clones,
compatible devices
peripherals
a strong community means
“someone, somewhere has solved the problem”
we can run this workshop using and adapting existing resources.
Assembly and Testing
Step One: Connecting and Testing the Arduino Nano
Download the Arduino IDE
Select your operating system and when prompted choose “Just Download”.
If you are using a genuine Arduino with the FT chipsets you won't need to download any drivers on PC and MacOS Sierra or later. If you are using a knockoff Arduino with the CH340G chip you will need to download the drivers for Mac.
Follow the instruction and install the program on your computer.
Connect Your Arduino
A red and then a green LED will light up on the Arduino, indicating that it's receiving power (for some Arduino's this may just be a single red light).
Now launch Arduino IDE.
Go to the Tools menu and change the following:
Board to
Arduino Nano
Processor to
ATmega328
Port to USB/Serial (different depending on
OS and Chip)
If you're having problems finding a USB port you most likely need to download the correct drivers.
Once again exact OS (and version) as well as the chip make a big difference.
Once that is done, run “Get Board Info” in the same menu, this should bring up a small popup with some information.
As long a you're not receiving an error in the console, you have successfully connected your Arduino!
Test with the Blink Example
Another step you can take to test that everything is working is to locate one of the basic example projects and upload it to the Arduino.
go to File → Examples → 01.Basic → Blink
click on the verify button (Check mark) and let it compile.
You should get a message at the top of the console telling you when it's done (this should take no more than a few seconds).
once this is done, without any errors, click the Upload button (Arrow).
this will upload the instructions to the Arduino and it will say “Done Uploading” when everything has worked.
your red LED on the Nano should now be blinking.
One second on, one second off.
uploading scripts to your Arduino works!
Now we are ready for the real projects.
Step Two: Assemble the LED panel and Nano
First let's peel the paper and pop out our case parts
And peel off the plastic cover on the LED panel
Then take the LED panel off its board. You can use the back of the pliers
Be gentle and try not to bend the pins
Attach the LED board to the case back panel using the four m2.5 bolts and nuts. The two 12 mm (short) screws are for the top
Then the two 25mm bolts for the bottom
Tighten gently with the screwdriver
Pop the LED panel back on. Check it is the right way round, and the panel is level
We're going to connect five jumper leads to the Arduino from the LED board
Attach the wires - from bottom to top:
SCL/CLK (System Clock)
DIN(Data In)
CS (Chip Select)
GND (Ground)
Feed them through the slot
Flip the case round and place your Nano in the slot
Attach:
Now back to the front, and attach
VCC (Voltage In) → +5V
Plug it into your computer - time to test our blinky lights!
Step Three: Using the Library and Project
Now its time to check our Arduino and LED are talking to each other.
Download and install the Library
In order to make the LED display a lot easier to work with we'll need to install a custom version of the MaxMatrix library (found in the download section below)
Download and open the project
Below you will find the project files compressed into a .ZIP file
extract the content wherever you'd like it and open up the wearables_matrix_ino file
the .INO file format should be associated with Arduino and will launch automatically
alternatively you can open Arduino and select the File → Open option in the menu
Note: You won't be able to run this script unless you have downloaded the library above.
Upload the Project
It is time to test your project file in your badge. Upload it the same way as the blink file. Your badge should say Free Bear Hugs
.
Step Four: Fit the Battery
It is time to fit and connect the battery. Both the battery and the charging board have protection circuitry but must always be handled with care.
Make sure you take care when handling the battery.
check that the RED wire from the battery is connected to B+ and the BLACK wire is connected to B-
do not let any conductive surfaces or wires touch. (This will short the battery which makes it unusable)
if this is not correct please notify the facilitator immediately!
the components will need to be rewired or swapped out
First make some space under the pins of the LED curcuit board
Slide the battery in and hold it in position with your thumb
Slide the USB charge board into the slot
Connect:
battery - (negative) to Arduino Ground (GND)
battery + (positive) to Arduino 3V input (3v3)
your Arduino will light up, and if your battery has enough charge, so will the LED screen
Step Five: Assemble the Case
Grab the case front
Use the two remaining m2.5 nuts to fix the front of the case
Grab the case bottom
Line up the Arduino end first
Then slide the case so it sits flat
Insert the Lanyard
Its time to hot glue the lanyard clip into place.
The lanyard will not click out after this, it will no longer be removable.
First remove the Lanyard clip from the necklace
Hot glue the lanyard clip into the spacer
Slide the lanyard clip in behind the LED screen
Hot glue it in place
Vacuum forming is an almost instantaneous process, so we need to get all set up before we start, and make a jig to hold the case in place
Making our Jig
Slide one of the blocks into the jig piece
Hot glue it into place
Line up your jig in the centre of the vacuum former plate
Carefully place your badgeduino on top
Prepare your Plastic
Unscrew the wing-nuts on the vacuum former frame
Fit your sheet of plastic in the frame
Tighten the wing-nuts firmly
Begin heating your plastic with the hot air gun
It will slowly start to go clear
Keep heating
When the entire sheet is clear - grab it
And lower it over your badge
Turn on your vacuum ….fast
Turn it off when the plastic has gone milky again
Congratulations ! You've made a vacuum form!
Clean up and fit Lanyard
Remove the jig
Carefully cut through the thinned plastic with the craft knife
Cut through the thick fins with your scissors
Trim the fins with your knife - always cut away from yourself
Cut free the lanyard socket
Glue the lanyard clip in
Step Seven: Creative PLay
Plug your Badgeduino in to test!
Hacking the Code
While it is beyond the scope of this workshop to teach your how to program your Arduino - here are some tips on:
void loop()
{
// displayText(text1, 100); // Send scrolling Text
displayText(text2, 100); // Send scrolling Text
//displayCustom(smile01, 1000);
}
Look for the void loop()
section. This contains what your Arduino will do once it turns on. In this case it will:
ignore displayText(text1, 100);
as it has been commented out with two backslashes
displayText(text2, 100)
ignore displayCustom(smile01, 1000);
Want to change the displayed text?
char text2[] = " FREE BEAR HUGS!!! "; // Scrolling Text
char text2[] = " I Have Changed!! "; // Scrolling Text
References
Downloads
Arduino
Laser Cutter Layouts
These files are for cutting on The Edge Rayjet. Settings are:
Colour | Power | Speed | Description |
Black | 100 | 10 | text markings |
Red | 100 | 1 | smallest shapes |
Blue | 100 | 1 | inner shapes |
Desert Blue | 100 | 1 | outer shapes |
Cyan | 100 | 1 | frame outline |
Laser cutter single shapes
Theses are the single shapes as DXFs
Old Versions