New Textiles 2011

Hot pink has never really been in my colour wheel until this week’s textile sensor assignment.  It took me some time to understand how the sensor itself worked and which materials and in what quantity gave the most appropriate readings for the Processing graph.  What resulted was a fun little hot pink sensored hand which I could “play” in sync to my favorite songs.

Hot Pink Hand Textile Sensor played to “Raise Your Glass” by the Glee Cast

Hot Pink Hand Textile Sensor - Watch the Video Above

To understand how the textiles work and interface with Arduino and Processing, I started by constructing the simple sticktape sensor that Hannah describes on her amazing website, “How to Get What You Want.”

Sticky Tape Sensor

See sticky tape demo video

From that initial prototype, I wanted to construct a more elaborate sensor that could intersect with something very tactile and natural to humans.  Hands came first to mind so I decided to start with my own hand as a frame for my project.

Cutting Out My Hand - It was like Thanksgiving!

I then sewed some conductive thread onto the leather hand to provide the underpinnings for the sensor.

I then tested multiple materials like the Velostat in different thicknesses with the Arduino and Processing software to understand which combinations of materials would be the most appropriately sensitive for hand touch.   I eventually defaulted to two layers of Velostat for the thumb and a layer of black rubbery material (not sure which one) for the palm.  It was then I realized that the hand needed some pizzaz so I cut some hot pink neoprene touchpoints that I could place on the hand itself which would be perfect for fingers.

As I tapped away and saw how tapping on the sensor felt like playing a piano, I decided to tap in sync to some music.

All in all, a very fun and rewarding project!