Summary of Lilypad Arduino Rocket Ship Cape
This article guides readers through creating a light-up and sound-playing rocket ship cape using the LilyPad Arduino board for a Children and Technology course. The project involves sewing felt components, connecting electronic parts like LEDs and a buzzer to the development board, and programming the device via the Arduino IDE to produce visual and audio effects.
Parts used in the Rocket Ship Cape:
- Felt (red, blue, yellow, teal, orange)
- Extra felt for back of project
- Sewing needle
- Felt glue
- Velcro
- Scissors
- Child's cape
- Protosnap LilyPad Development Board
- Conductive thread
- LilyPad FTDI basic
- Mini-USB cable
- 5 white LEDs
- RGB LED
- Buzzer
I am taking a Children and Technology course for my MLS this semester, and one of our assignments is to create a toy using the LilyPad Arduino development board. The LilyPad Arduino is used to create e-textiles that you can program to do various things. In this instructable, I will walk you through the process of creating a rocket ship cape that lights up and plays a scale.
Step 1: Step One: Materials
Sewing Materials:
Felt (one square each): red, blue, yellow, teal, orange
Extra felt for back of project (approximately two squares)
Sewing needle
Felt glue
Velcro
Scissors
Child’s cape
Felt (one square each): red, blue, yellow, teal, orange
Extra felt for back of project (approximately two squares)
Sewing needle
Felt glue
Velcro
Scissors
Child’s cape
Electronics Materials:
Protosnap LilyPad Development Board – https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11262
This board should come with: Conductive thread, LilyPad FTDI basic
Mini-USB cable
Software:
FTDI driver (http://arduino.cc/en/main/software)
Arduino IDE (http://arduino.cc/en/main/software)
Step 2: Step Two: Planning
When you get your lilypad development board, download the arduino and driver software and experiment with what the board can do. I decided to use the 5 white LEDs, the RGB LED, and the buzzer, but if you want to get more creative you can explore the vibrating motor, light sensor, switch, button, or touch sensor. Play around with the most basic preloaded code, “Blink,” to make sure the connections between the hardware and computer are working. The code for the arduino is written in the programming language C, and you can easily find examples of different ways to modify the code through Google.
The first step is to plan your project and map out your circuit diagram. When you sew with conductive thread, you need to make sure the positive and negative stitches do not cross, so this planning stage is vital to the functionality of your project! You will be connecting all of the negative pins to the “-” pin on your board and the positive pins of the LEDs and buzzer to their own pins. The positive pin at the top of the tri-color LED should be connected to the “+” pin on the Lilypad. See my diagram for more details on the recommended connections
Step 3: Step Three: Piece together rocket ship
Now you can start to put together your rocket ship. My rocket ship was inspired by this design on etsy. I cut a red triangle for the top, a navy rectangle for the body, a flared teal rectangle for the base, and orange and yellow flames for the bottom. I also cut out layered yellow and teal circles for windows and stars to cover the LEDs (don’t put these on yet!). I then used felt glue to stick all the pieces together, although you could sew them if you wanted a more durable project. I wanted my project to look handmade, so I free-handed the outline and the stars, but you could certainly trace these more precisely if you are going for a more polished look.
For more detail: Lilypad Arduino Rocket Ship Cape
- What software is required to program the LilyPad board?
You need the FTDI driver and the Arduino IDE. - Can I use other sensors besides the ones listed in the example?
Yes, you can explore the vibrating motor, light sensor, switch, button, or touch sensor. - How should I connect the positive and negative pins during planning?
All negative pins must connect to the "-" pin on the board, while positive pins of LEDs and the buzzer connect to their own specific pins. - Which color LEDs are included with the Protosnap LilyPad Development Board?
The board comes with 5 white LEDs and one RGB LED. - Is it better to sew or glue the felt pieces together?
You can use felt glue, but sewing them creates a more durable project. - What programming language is used for the Arduino code?
The code for the Arduino is written in the programming language C. - Why is the planning stage vital for this project?
Planning ensures that positive and negative stitches do not cross when sewing with conductive thread. - Where can I find examples of how to modify the code?
You can easily find examples of different ways to modify the code through Google.
