13. Skin Electronics

Assignment

  • Document the concept, sketches, references also to artistic and scientific publications
  • Design a skin circuit:
  • Build your own version of the “Skin masquerade party” project or
  • Build your own version of the “Twinkle Nails” project
  • Document the project and included all source files and all materials used
  • Make a video with your skin electronic working
  • Make a performance of your project functioning

How will it be evaluated

  • References : tutorial , links, inspiration
  • Design : sketch , 3D modeling skills, Parametric modeling skills
  • Fabrication : Capable of executing from file to production workflow, from 3D modelling to 3D printing , parameters, materials
  • Documentation : Anyone can go through the process and understand
  • Final outcome : Is the project assembled, functioning and complete
  • Originality - Aesthetics : Has the design been thought through and elaborated

Grasshopper File

Cut pattern

Thermistor tutorial

Thermistor

Workflow

  • Research
  • Design
  • Fabrication
  • Final Result

Research

I have been impressed by all Katia showed. Skin electronics is one of the most interesting assignments because is not just about electronics and electronics embedded in fabric. It is about electronics on skin. It changes the concept of wear electronics on a concept to have electronics as part of us embedded on out skin really calls our attention.

Design

This assignment inspired me to do an idea I have been cooking some time before. Most of my friends are getting married at this point of our lives and I am not the type of guy that likes to wear too formal and in our culture it is important to do it. I hate ties because I consider them too all fashioned for me and also too formal. Because we are talking about my friend and parents I have to be respectful with our culture and them. So it is necessary to use tie to be respectful.

If you asked me to invest my short fabricademy time to do a mask (I don’t like them neither, sorry) or paint my nails (I don’t paint my nails); is not an option for me. I prefer to solve the tie problem and see how to improve it with Electronic Skin concept.

The tie to get crazy. It is a tie made by digital fabrication that’s looks nice and elegant and illuminates when the user increase body temperature by dancing with color A and when the user increase to much the temperature it display color B.

I have parameterized the design by grasshopper with magnetic forces. I really enjoyed Aldo’s class on computational culture assignment and used the same principles applied to a tie.

I have used Fibonacci sequence to generate a natural and beautiful design. This design for me was a challenge and I am super happy with the result.

Fabrication

Vinyl cut

I have select acetate and acrylic to do the first version of The tie to get crazy because the time I had. I wish I version 2 could be bio.

Acetate is one of those materials you can’t cut in laser so I try with Cameo 3 vinyl cutter but the material is 1 mm and was impossible to cut fortunately it showed me the pattern to cut with a scissor.

Laser cut

I have used laser cutter to make the solid patterns in black acrylic.

Then I have paste acetate with acrylic in order to have the body of my tie.

Electronics

At the begging was really complex to find a 5v line of leds locally. It took me a wild to find it but the one I found it was perfect because all was integrated as I needed and in a small size. For this reason I preferred to hack the PCB instead of make a new one.

For skin contact I decide to liberate an analog pin on my PCB extending it with conductive thread and attaching a thermistor of FabAcademy inventory that will be in contact with skin.

Final Result

Note: I have to do more experimentation yet to find the results I want but the basic system it is working.

Conclusions

This assignment introduced to me a nice concept Skin Electronis. For me Fabriacademy opened my mind a lot by understanding electronics in a different level and Skin Electronis is the cherry of the pie. I will use this concept in the future for sure. I am the type of person that loves technology and how thechnology could expand human capabilities. I have also studied bioacademy and I find Skin Electronics as a super tool to merge human and human created technology. I am really excited to came up with a Fab+Bio+Fabricademy project using Skin Electronics concept.