Puthaw Inhenyeriya · 2024
Openwear Wearable Prototyping Toolkit
by Leijing Zhou
- A' Design Award nga Puthaw 2024 in Inhenyeriya
- CLIENT: Zhejiang University
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 53,077
- Verification code 7B004D940D · Verify this award
Colors
About Openwear Wearable Prototyping Toolkit
Ang Openwear usa ka toolkit alang sa paghimo og wearable electronic prototypes sa paspas nga paagi. Ang toolkit naglakip sa usa ka gimodipikar nga Lilypad USB development board, napulog-usa ka bag-ong gidisenyo nga mga module ug mga quick connecting cable. Ang matag module adunay usa ka input o output chip ug unom ka pin nga 3 mm ang diyametro. Ang mga magnet nga 10 mm ang diyametro gitaod sa likod sa mga board, mao nga ang mga bahin mopilit sa sinina pinaagi sa magnetic pads imbes nga tahion. Ang mga O-connector ug bolts maoy nag-usa sa mga pin. Ang mga prototype mahimong tukuron, sulayan, ug ipahimutang pag-usab direkta sa panapton.
About the A' Design Award nga Puthaw
Openwear Wearable Prototyping Toolkit usa ka mananaog sa A' Design Award nga Puthaw, usa ka dungganon nga pag-ila nga gihatag sa maayong mga disenyo nga nakatagbo sa propesyonal ug industriyal nga mga gikinahanglan nga gipaabot gikan sa maayo ang pagkadisenyo nga mga paglalang. Ang mga mananaog sa Puthaw nagpakita og dakong kahanas, taas nga espesyalisasyon, eksperto nga pagsabot, ug mamugnaon nga abilidad sa ilang mga tiglalang. Gilauman nga ang Openwear Wearable Prototyping Toolkit mahimong gipabilhan, gihangaan, ug gihigugma nga paglalang nga praktikal ug bag-o. Kini nga disenyo nga nakadaog og A' Design Award nga Puthaw naghiusa sa labing maayong mga praktis sa industriya ug adunay hanas nga teknikal nga mga kinaiya nga nalambigit sa kahibalo ug talento. Openwear Wearable Prototyping Toolkit gitahod tungod sa pagkamaabtik niini ug gidisenyo aron maghatag og mga pagpaayo sa kalidad sa kinabuhi nga makatabang sa paghimo sa kalibutan nga mas maayong dapit.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Openwear is a toolkit for building rapid wearable prototypes. It includes a modified Lilypad USB development board, 11 newly designed modules, and quick connecting cables. This kit facilitates rapid prototyping by enabling quick attachment and connection and allows users to directly build and test prototypes on the intended substrate like clothes.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Development board size is ϕ50*1mm, module size is ϕ25*1mm.
- Tags
- Hardware, Electronic, Toolkit, Wearable, E-textile
- Production Technology
- For the modules, we have designed 11 different modules with input or output chips contained on each module. Each module has six 3mm diameter pins. For quick fixing, we fixed a 10mm diameter magnet on the bottom of the development board and modules, which works with the magnetic fixing pads to attach to clothes. For quick connects, we used O-connectors and bolts, which work well with the 3mm pin sizes on the PCB.
- Design Challenge
- The biggest challenge in the whole research was to achieve a rapid fixing and connection of the PCB. We tried a variety of methods including pins, buttons, velcro, and finally we chose to use magnets with O-connectors, which had not been used before.
- Research
- The success of the LilyPad has resulted in the creation of various development boards, such as the more compact TinyLily and the Circuit Playground with many sensors. However, these variations only modify the dimensions or integrate sensors, without modifying the Lilypad's method for constructing wearable circuits. This method presents a challenge in prototyping wearable circuits: sewing processes are time-consuming and set a high threshold for beginners. Furthermore, the troubleshooting process in wearable circuit prototyping often requires resetting and resewing. Once the development board is integrated into the fabric, the complexity of the debugging code also increases proportionally.
- Inspiration
- Common wearable circuits often need to be fixed using sewing, which is very cumbersome. To solve this problem, we took inspiration from magnetic buttons. We have embedded magnets in the back of the PCB to fix it using magnetic force.
- Project Duration
- The project started in August 2023 in Ningbo and finished in January 2024
- Operation Flow
- 1. Building the First Circuit Prototype: Select modules based on design requirements and assemble them on a flat surface for initial circuit testing and debugging. 2. Continuous Testing and Adjustment of the Circuit: Reconfigure module positions on the body for testing purposes. 3. Building the Final Circuit: Sew components directly onto fabric using conductive yarn or utilize sewing magnet fixing pads as an alternative method. This ensures flexibility and ease of removal.
