Openwear Komplet za izradu nosivih prototipova by Leijing Zhou

Openwear Komplet za izradu nosivih prototipova by Leijing Zhou is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2024 Željezna nagrada A' Design Award in Inženjerstvo Proizvoda i Tehnički Dizajn Competition Category.

ŽeljezoInženjerstvo· 2024

Openwear Komplet za izradu nosivih prototipova

by Leijing Zhou

Client: Zhejiang University

Željezna nagrada A' Design Award Winner in Inženjerstvo Category

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Verified Award Winner

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Openwear Komplet za izradu nosivih prototipova

Openwear je komplet alata za brzu izradu prototipova nosive elektronike. Komplet uključuje modificiranu Lilypad USB razvojnu pločicu, jedanaest novo dizajniranih modula i kabele za brzo povezivanje. Svaki modul sadrži ulazni ili izlazni čip te šest pinova promjera 3 mm. Magneti promjera 10 mm pričvršćeni su na stražnju stranu pločica, tako da se dijelovi drže za odjeću pomoću magnetnih podložaka umjesto šivanja. O-konektori i vijci povezuju pinove. Prototipovi se mogu graditi, testirati i preslagivati izravno na tkanini.

The Recognition

About the Željezna nagrada A' Design Award

Openwear Komplet za izradu nosivih prototipova je pobjednik Željezne nagrade A' Design Award, prestižnog priznanja koje se dodjeljuje dobrim dizajnima što ispunjavaju profesionalne i industrijske zahtjeve očekivane od dobro dizajniranih kreacija. Željezni pobjednici pokazuju veliku vještinu, visoku specijalizaciju, stručno razumijevanje i kreativne kapacitete svojih stvaratelja. Očekuje se da Openwear Komplet za izradu nosivih prototipova bude visoko cijenjena, voljena i njegovana kreacija koja je praktična i inovativna. Ovaj dizajn koji je osvojio Željeznu nagradu A' Design Award integrira najbolje industrijske prakse i ima kompetentne tehničke karakteristike povezane sa znanjem i talentom. Openwear Komplet za izradu nosivih prototipova se poštuje zbog svoje temeljitosti i dizajniran je da pruži poboljšanja kvalitete života koja pomažu da svijet postane bolje mjesto.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

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.
Team Members: Leijing Zhou
Xin An
Yiqing Zhang
Yang Mao