Class 8: Crafting Soft Sensors

Tues. Mar 1, 2021, 10:30AM to 12:20PM (Zoom)

Today’s class is primarily devoted to hands-on learning.

Warm-up

1. Brief check-in.
2. Any questions?

Announcements

• Picking up sewing machines from A9 on Mar. 8 for use in class on Mar. 9
• Mar. 9 class period for people brand new to sewing or IDeATe sewing machines.

Assignment 7 Review

Let’s take no more than ten minutes to discuss your progress on Assignment 7.

1. What features and techniques did you try out?
2. Did you get stuck trying to figure anything out?
3. What was the most surprising discovery?

Soft Sensors

We will craft a few of our own sensors. Using different kinds of conductive textile materials, we will construct simple, yet effective, soft sensors.

Examples

• Slideshow
• How to Get What You Want – Soft Interactive Technologies
  • Bend Sensor
  • Large Stroke Sensor
  • Zipper Switch
  • Fish Scale
  • Hannah Perner-Wilson

Materials:

• Scissors
• Pencil
• Tape
• conductive thread
• velostat
• conductive fabric
• thicker non-conductive (regular) fabric
• hand sewing needles
• regular, non-conductive thread
• Soft Sensor Templates
• Soft Sensor CircuitPython sketches

Overview:

• Materials & Templates
• Make a very quick sensor
• Principles of a Switch
  • Example: Button
  • On – Off / Digital
• Principles of a Variable Resistor
  • Example: Pressure Sensor / Bend Sensor
  • Range of numbers / Analog
  • Velostat
  • Calibration

Demos:

• Quick Tape Sensor
• Hooking up the sensor to your Bluefruit
  • Soft Sensor CircuitPython sketches
• Fabric Button / Pressure Sensor
  • Parts
  • Testing
  • Sewing closed 
  • Version as a bend sensor
• Potentiometer
  • Parts
  • principle
  • construction
  • testing
• Stroke Sensor
  • Parts
  • Construction
  • Testing

Assignment 8

• Finish a fabric button sensor and a fabric pressure or bend sensor
• This will be an individual assignment