We were thinking of possible ideas as to what relationship our symbiote would have with the wearer. We began by brainstorming the different kinds of sensors we could use on the circuit playground and were drawn to the idea of using the temperature sensor. We had previously thought about having an umbrella-like symbiote that would actuate with rain, but that posed issues with sensing rain, so we decided to think about temperature change.

One of the first issues we ran into was accessing the temperature data in the circuit playground, however, after talking to Garth we were able to get the temperature sensor working.

Since we create a solid design for our symbiote the crafting of the pneumatic actuator was not difficult and went rather smoothly. One thing we had to change from the original design was adding another diamond hinge. In our original design, we only had 4 since our symbiote attaches to the host’s back. However, after making these initially we realized that 2 more hinges would be necessary to make the symbiote completely wrap around the host as we wanted.

The symbiote also contains fabric to wrap you in for when it gets cold. The reason we wanted it to sense temperature was so it could hug the person and provide them with warmth whenever the temperature got too cold.

Original Design (with added diamond hinge):

Intent: User taps their shoulder, and the symbiote wraps around the user.

(Shorter video due to puch popping)

Side View

 Notable successes:

  • Pouch folding shape
  • Mounting placement
  • Lifting tull to represent intent

Informative failures:

  • Pouch popping, most likely due to very large air pockets.
  • Inability to lift heavier fabric – need to explore different vest-mounting mechanisms.
  • Temperature sensor + DC Motor control compatibility.