Final Finally...

So i'm finally getting around to updating my blog. I've been working on my final for a while now, hitting snags readjusting and continuing on and such. As I began production I borrowed a qprox or two to see if the touch sensor would provide the desired output. I was able to get the qprox working...
Then my thoughts went to minimizing materials to maximize output (so I wouldn't have to wire 20 individual qprox sensors), thinking if I buy the 4 or 5 channel qprox then each region of the body can have a hub where the sensors extend to the different parts. I searched the sensor wiki to find qt140 the quantum website, where one is to purchase a qprox suggested the new version of the qt140 to be the qt240, so I ordered 5. When digikey finally delivered my package I opened it up to find cute little surface mount microscopic chips that fit on the tip of my pinky finger. Time to act fast...I can work with these, all I have to do is create a schematic and board in EAGLE layout editor and etch a copper clad board to mount the sensors. After learning a little bit of EAGLE I achieved
Alas I had yet to have the etching materials, the acid to etch, the time it takes to create these little boards...so I moved on with my life and back to the qt113 :)

Whew...tired yet? The story goes on...

The next step was to start building this multitude of qt113 circuits...These are the qproxs on perf board: This is a finished qprox wired with capacitors and wires to connect to arduino power and ground front and back:

I then built the entire circuit and created the code to load to the arduino board. The next couple pictures show that when the qprox is touched the LED reacts by turning off...

Yet again I run into another snag...sometimes things are more complicated then you thought they would be. I move on to program the Xbee...definitely not enough time for me to learn how to program the xbee for my device after all the other work i've been doing. I did attend the xbee workshop as a last attempt to get some quick tips in programming it; absolutely no way around reading the 70 page starter guide to then tailor the xbee to your own project. I did however learn how to wire up the xbee and assign the pan id :) (this then removes the need for a max patch to capture the beat because then the arduino would have to be wired to a computer) We'll save the rest for the next iteration...moving on...

The circuit now completed, I had to worry about the wearable factor and putting everything inside the suit. At wendy's awesome sewing and other junk tutorial I learned about this nifty tool called wire ribbon. She had yet to test it out on a wearable device, so I decided to give it a shot...and yes the wire in the ribbon does conduct and adds a little flair to your wearable...heres the ribbon in use:

Thanks to the wire ribbon I decided to use one side of the ribbon as power and the other as ground and run the entire ribbon through my suit to power the separate qproxs. Here is the ribbon sewn inside the suit:
I then sewed pockets for the qproxs (do we say qprie or qpri?) inside of the suit

Sewed a pocket for the arduino...attached the qprox power and ground to the wire ribbon, wired up the LEDs and put them into the suit, connected all the wires to arduino, connected the LEDs to ground on the wire ribbon and you have:


Do I have to spell it out for you? SUCCESS!!!!!

Next steps:

• sew the wires down
• connect a battery
• wear it!
  

Lessons learned...make sure you understand the abbreviations when ordering chips, know what it takes to learn/understand/program the different technologies involved before committing yourself to it, don't procrastinate, have fun!

The story of my wearables life= soldering :/ So in conclusion...always continue to personally express yourself!