Author: narora4

Pitch Message

Introduction

The IoT mood tracker is a device that provides feedback to student advisors on how a group of students is feeling. Graduate school can be extremely challenging. Sometimes it gets so bad that students get burned out. What if student advisors knew that students were not doing well before they reached the burnout stage?

The IoT Mood tracker uses a suite of Adafruit products, Adafruit IO and IFTTT to invite passersby to hit a physical thumbs up, thumbs down, or thumb level that represents the mood they are feeling. When any one thumb has been pressed a certain amount of times, the device sends an email to a student advisor.

Watch the IoT Mood Tracker in action here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLDYVQEjzqU

Link to Instructables:

https://www.instructables.com/PoD-Mood-Tracker/

A sample social media message:

Ever got burnt our with schoolwork? This IoT Mood Tracker helps student advisors know how a students cohort is doing to keep burnout at bay. The device uses thumb-shaped buttons, electronics and the internet to record student moods and relays the info to school administrators

Blogs we sent our Pitch to

Blog we were featured in

https://www.hackster.io/news/icon-based-student-mood-tracker-adecc1431de1

Halloween Costume(Skirt)

About

The Octacle Skirt is inspired by the camouflaging nature of an octopus that can change its skin color. They have special cells in their arms that facilitate this mechanism. Research shows that when different parts of the octopus’s arm are illuminated, the tip of the arm was the most sensitive to light. Using these concepts, I chose to program the code on my skirt.

My Fascination with the Octopus

I have always been fascinated with the camouflaging nature of an octopus and how they squirt ink to deter predators. My observations and research led me to recreate how an octopus reacts in its natural habitats.

Concept Sketches

To make this project, I used:

1. Soft Flexible Wire NeoPixel Strand 
2. Burgundy leather skirt
3. Adafruit GEMMA v2 (Adafruit Kit)
4. White PLA (Courtesy of Becky)
5. Battery Pack (Adafruit Kit)
6. Silicone coated wire (VFL)
7. Soldering iron (VFL)
8. Flush cutters (VFL)
9. Wire strippers (VFL)
10. Fabric scissors (VFL)
11. Sewing needles (VFL)
12. Sewing pins (VFL)
13. Sewing machine (VFL)

Coding and Fabrication Process

Step 1: I began by testing my code using a Neopixel strip on the Arduino Uno Board. I programmed the code using 4 main functions:

-The colorWipe and reversecolorWipe that depicted how the suckers of the octopus react at a different speeds.

-The delay function that is a buffer before the octopus changes its color.

-The pulse function that gradually illuminates the color change.

Step 2: Measuring and pinning desired skirt length to trace a paper template.

Step 3: Cutting the skirt template and determining the size of the octopus suckers on the front and back of the skirt to resemble a tentacle.

Step 4: Resizing the 3D model and converting file to STL ready to 3D print. The 25 suckers are meant to act as light diffusers. If I had the right 3D printer I would have preferred to print the model in NinjaFlex rather than PLA.

Step 5: Process of 3D printing diffusers.

Step 6: Testing code on soft neopixels using the Gemma with alligator clips and my battery back.

Step 7: Soldering the Gemma to the soft neopixels.

Step 8: Taping the neopixels to the skirt paper template to test the effect.

Step 9: Marking positions for neopixels and sewing them onto the skirt.

Step 10: Individually sewing the suckers onto the skirt.

Circuit Digram and Code

#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>

#define PIN A1

#define NUM_LEDS 25

#define BRIGHTNESS 25

// Parameter 1 = number of pixels in strip
// Parameter 2 = pin number (most are valid)
// Parameter 3 = pixel type flags, add together as needed:
//   NEO_RGB     Pixels are wired for RGB bitstream
//   NEO_GRB     Pixels are wired for GRB bitstream, correct if colors are swapped upon testing
//   NEO_RGBW    Pixels are wired for RGBW bitstream
//   NEO_KHZ400  400 KHz bitstream (e.g. FLORA pixels)
//   NEO_KHZ800  800 KHz bitstream (e.g. High Density LED strip), correct for neopixel stick
Adafruit_NeoPixel strip = Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUM_LEDS, PIN, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);

void setup() {

  strip.setBrightness(BRIGHTNESS);
  strip.begin();
  strip.show(); // Initialize all pixels to 'off'
}

void loop() {
  // Some example procedures showing how to display to the pixels:
  
  pulseWhite(5);
 colorWipe(strip.Color(255, 255, 255), 50); // White
 delay(500);
 pulsePink(5);
 colorWipe(strip.Color(255, 5, 180), 20);  // Pink
  delay(500);
  pulseBlue(5);
 colorWipe(strip.Color(0, 0, 255), 50);  // Blue
  delay(500);
    pulseWhite(5);
  reversecolorWipe(strip.Color(255, 255, 255), 50); // White
  delay(500);
   pulsePink(5);
 reversecolorWipe(strip.Color(255, 5, 180), 20);  // Pink
  delay(500);
    pulseBlue(5);
   reversecolorWipe(strip.Color(0, 0, 255), 50);  // Blue
  delay(500);


  // fullWhite();
  // delay(100);



}

// Fill the dots one after the other with a color
void colorWipe(uint32_t c, uint8_t wait) {
  for(uint16_t i=0; i<strip.numPixels(); i++) {
    strip.setPixelColor(i, c);
    strip.show();
    delay(wait);
  }
}
void reversecolorWipe(uint32_t c, uint8_t wait) {
  for(uint16_t i=strip.numPixels(); i>0; i--) {
    strip.setPixelColor(i, c);
    strip.show();
    delay(wait);
  }
}
void pulseWhite(uint8_t wait) {
  for(int j = 0; j < 256 ; j++){
      for(uint16_t i=0; i<strip.numPixels(); i++) {
          strip.setPixelColor(i, strip.Color(0,0,0, j ) );
        }
        delay(wait);
        strip.show();
      }

  for(int j = 255; j >= 0 ; j--){
      for(uint16_t i=0; i<strip.numPixels(); i++) {
          strip.setPixelColor(i, strip.Color(0,0,0, j ) );
        }
        delay(wait);
        strip.show();
      }
}

void pulsePink(uint8_t wait) {
  for(int j = 0; j < 250 ; j++){
      for(uint16_t i=0; i<strip.numPixels(); i++) {
          strip.setPixelColor(i, strip.Color(j+2,0,j,0 ) );
        }
        delay(wait);
        strip.show();
      }

  for(int j = 250; j >= 0 ; j--){
      for(uint16_t i=0; i<strip.numPixels(); i++) {
          strip.setPixelColor(i, strip.Color(j+2,0,j,0 ) );
        }
        delay(wait);
        strip.show();
      }
}


void pulseBlue(uint8_t wait) {
  for(int j = 0; j < 256 ; j++){
      for(uint16_t i=0; i<strip.numPixels(); i++) {
          strip.setPixelColor(i, strip.Color(0,0,j,0 ) );
        }
        delay(wait);
        strip.show();
      }

  for(int j = 255; j >= 0 ; j--){
      for(uint16_t i=0; i<strip.numPixels(); i++) {
          strip.setPixelColor(i, strip.Color(0,0,j,0 ) );
        }
        delay(wait);
        strip.show();
      }
}

Final Product

Halloween Parade

Takeaways

I really enjoyed this project. The most accomplishing part was understanding the code and being able to resolve minor issues that I was facing. The process of working with the Gemma was fairly easy with minimal soldering to the soft neopixels. I would have loved to use Ninjaflex instead of Hard PLA if I had the right printer. Also, from the beginning of my concept, I was interested in movement triggering the lights effect and so I would like to add this function in the future to my project. This function, would also more closely imitate the octopus’s reaction to camoflaudgye.

Process

Neopixel

Halloween Costume Sketches

Potential Shopping List

1. Sheer stretchy Fabric
2. Metal Framework
3. LED Lights
4. Micro-fiber light
5. Leather
6. Strip lights
7. Neo Pixel Strip
8. Arduino Kit
9. On/Off Button

Plush Night Light: Nihaarika Arora

About

U2hug allows women to rest their lower back during and before menstruation. Inspired by the female uterus this plush night light duals as a back pillow in the shape of a women’s uterus that supports the back. Its fallopian tubes are described as arms hugging the waist and the fimbriae are described as helping hands that light up giving the user a sense of comfort.

The Problem

80% of women worldwide spend five to seven days in a month from mild discomfort to debilitating pain that interferes with daily activities.

Lower back pain associated with your period can start a few days before menstruation (PMS) and get better after your period is over. This type of back pain is typically muscular and caused by hormonal changes.

The Story

Lisa is a 29 year old woman (Target User) who is suffering from lower back pain before during her menstruation and is waiting to head back home from school. She has been in the studio all day and has not had a chance to rest.

The concept of U2hug, a plush night light is inspired by the literal form of a women’s uterus. The product attempts to provide a sense of comfort and security for women during their period by supporting the back.

Lisa can also carry U2hug with her during long days at the studio and can have a 20 minute power nap by relaxing her lower back.

Design Process

After the exploratory sketches, I created a paper pattern to help guide the template for the fabric. I chose a light pink wool fabric that is soft to the touch and decided to embed 6 LED white lights into the palms of my plush night light. I also added a translucent foam film to better defuse the light. Initially I was imagining the name of the product embroidered on the front of the pillow. However, I decided to go with a smaller embroidered name tag “U2hug” on the side of the plush night light.

Material List

1. Pink wool fabric
2. Light Pink thread
3. Dark pink thread (embroidery)
4. Fiber Fill
5. Translucent film
6. 3xAAA batteries
7. 6x White LED’s

Circuit Diagram

Final Product

Product in Use

Takeaways

1. It was my first attempt at using the embroidery machine at the VFL and I was very satisfied with its outcome.
2. I decided to challenge myself and hand sew the plush toy. The most challenging part was perfecting the ridges between the fingers. Also,adding the fiber fill to the fingers was a challenging task. I also had a hard time finding the perfect material to defuse the light and fit in the palm.
3. The future refinement of this product would be to have the pillow heat up with a cordless recharging system to alleviate cramps from period pain.