Järn Teknik · 2024
Openwear Bärbart prototypverktyg
by Leijing Zhou
- A' Design Award i Järn 2024 in Teknik
- CLIENT: Zhejiang University
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 53,077
- Verification code 7B004D940D · Verify this award
Colors
About Openwear Bärbart prototypverktyg
Openwear är ett verktygssortiment för att snabbt bygga bärbara elektroniska prototyper. Verktygslådan innehåller ett modifierat Lilypad USB-utvecklingskort, elva nydesignade moduler och snabbkopplingskablar. Varje modul bär ett in- eller utgångschip samt sex stift med en diameter på 3 mm. Magneter med en diameter på 10 mm är fästa på kortens baksida, vilket gör att delarna sitter fast på kläder genom magnetiska plattor istället för att sys fast. O-kontakter och bultar sammanfogar stiften. Prototyper kan byggas, testas och omarrangeras direkt på tyget.
About the A' Design Award i Järn
Openwear Bärbart prototypverktyg är vinnare av A' Design Award i Järn, ett prestigefyllt erkännande som tilldelas bra designverk som uppfyller de professionella och industriella krav som förväntas av välgjorda skapelser. Järnvinnare visar stor skicklighet, hög specialisering, expertförståelse och skaparnas kreativa förmåga. Openwear Bärbart prototypverktyg förväntas vara en högt skattad, beundrad och älskad skapelse som är praktisk och innovativ. Detta vinnande verk i A' Design Award i Järn integrerar branschens bästa praxis och har kompetenta tekniska egenskaper kopplade till kunnande och talang. Openwear Bärbart prototypverktyg respekteras för sin grundlighet och är utformat för att åstadkomma förbättringar av livskvaliteten som hjälper till att göra världen till en bättre plats.
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.
