The PEZ Neckstrap

The idea:
Turn a toy into a wearable object

How:
I drilled holes into the eyes of baby Jack–Jack from The Incredibles to accommodate two red 2.8–volt LEDs. I also drilled holes into Jack–Jack's ears in order to coil the neckstrap, which doubled as the positive and negative wire sources for the battery (see below). (DISCUSS MORE.)

Front view of the PEZ neckstrap (with my camera shy friend modeling)

A rear view of the PEZ neckstrap

Both of the PEZ's eyes are "off"

Both of the PEZ's eyes are "on"

The Sunstrap

The idea:
Manufacture a neckstrap that absorbs power from the sun and converts that energy into a trickle charge for rechargeable batteries.

How:
Wiring about 50 four–volt, 50 microamp solar cells in parallel will yield 2.5 milliamperes of current at 4 volts. This should be enough to provide a trickle charge to two rechargeable AA or AAA batteries. Depending on the limitations of the circuitry and the aesthetic of a rough draft, I may include, in addition to the CPC1824 cells, foldable solar cells.

Somewhere between 25 parts control boards will be built for this project, all of which will be wired to each other using either conductive thread or wire wrap. Conductive material notwithstanding, the color of the thread/wire will be a light brown to match the color of the parts control boards.

First week of February 2007

I received my first sample today: four CPC1822 solar cells from Clare Inc. They look like precious stones, and as such exude style in their design. There is high potential for a wearable project.

7 February 2007

The only company that carries the CPC1822 solar cells, which yield 4–volts at 50 microamps, is Digi–Key. It's sold out. Thus, I contacted Clare directly for an estimated ship date to Digi–Key. Clare isn't sure exactly when they could get a shipment out to Digi–Key.

I'm also considering the 4–volt, 100 microamp CPC1824 solar cell from Clare for my project.

21 February 2007

Spoke to a sales rep at Clare today. She still wasn't sure about when the CPC1822 and CPC1824 solar cells will ship to Digi–Key. Later in the day, however, she notifed me that Digi–Key will have the cells "soon."

20 March 2007

Forty nine solar cells were shipped yesterday from Digi–Key. The shipment is to arrive on 26 March 2007

22 March 2007

Ordered the items that I need to etch my own parts control boards: copper clad and ferric chloride.

Touch Trigger

The idea:
Create a soft switch

How:
Taking it literally, I created a touch–sensing switch by lacing the right, upper breast section of a gray hooded sweatshirt with conductive thread. When touched, the thread triggered an LED protruding from the right pocket.

Parts

Microprocessor: Arduino mini (basic stampe form factor)

One 10k Ohm and one 220 Ohm resistor

One 43nF and one 10nF non–electrolytic capacitor

Pins 3, 4, and 5 on the mini Arduino float

Nine–volt battery

Reactions To Readings

Fashion by Georg Simmel, The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 62, No. 6 (May, 1957), pp. 541–558

Comments forthcoming

Dress Codes: Meanings and Messages in American Culture by Ruth P. Rubinstein, pp. 39–48 & 242–259

Comments forthcoming

Textiles from Novel Means of Innovation by Patricia Wilson, in extreme Textiles: Designing for High Performance edited by Matilda McQuaid

Comments forthcoming

E–broidery: Design and Fabrication of Textile–based Computing by E.R. Post, M. Orth, P.R. Russo, and N. Gershenfeld, IBM Systems Journal, Volume 39, Numbers 3 & 4, 2000, pp. 840–860

Comments forthcoming

Some Simple Reflections on the Body by Paul Valery, in Fragments for a History of the Human Body, Part Two, edited by Michel Feher with Ramona Naddaff and Nadia Tazi, pp. 395–405

Comments forthcoming

Dis–Armor by Krysztof Wodiczko, in Assemblage, MIT Press., No. 41 (April 2002), pp. 86–87

Comments forthcoming

"Reflectionism" and "Diffusionism": New Tactics for Deconstructing the Video Surveillance Superhighway by Steve Mann, Leonardo, MIT Press, Vol. 31, No. 2 (1998), pp. 93–102

Comments forthcoming

Clothing: The Portable Environment by Susan M. Watkins, pp. xv–xviii (Introduction) and 334–355 (The Design Process)

Comments forthcoming

The Fingerprint of the Second Skin by Kitty Hauser, in Fashion and Modernity, edited by Christopher Breward and Caroline Evans, pp. 153–170

Comments forthcoming

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann, pp. 345–349 (Appendix B)

Comments forthcoming

todo (pez neckstrap)
. course link
. add more images
. email

todo (sunstrap)
. clear up synopsis
. spec sheet for the CPC1824
. discuss the design and building of my own parts control boards
. discuss etching my own boards
. put up the eagle sketches

todo (touch trigger)
. clear up and add synopsis
. image of sweater
. movie file
. schematics

todo (reactions to readings)
. edit written comments for each reading below
. have someone proofread comments
. udpate site