MICROCONTROLLERS
FOR WEARABLES
feel less intimidating than a bigger board with lots of
bells and whistles. Despite its small size, GEMMA
still has convenient features like a built-in on/off
switch, a JST battery connector, and micro USB
for programming.4 TINYLILY MINI
The TinyLily Mini by TinyCircuits is about the size
of a thumbnail. It’s unbelievably tiny! To achieve
this tiny size, the board lacks some conveniences
built into bigger boards, and requires a separate
USB converter for programming. But with the same
processor as a full-sized LilyPad Arduino, it’s still
powerful enough to drive some truly awesome
wearable projects.ALSO CONSIDER: STITCHKIT
StitchKit is a new wearable microcontroller designed
specifically for fashion tech and wearables by
MakeFashion. Based on their experience running
fashion shows, the StitchKit is designed to combine
durability with ease of use for fashion designers who
are new to working with hardware. The StitchKit
Kickstarter campaign has been fully funded, and
MakeFashion plans to start shipping boards in April
of this very year.rduino and other microcontrollers
are basically tiny computers that
let you add programmability to
your project. With a microcontroller,
you can incorporate light animations,
sensors, motors, sounds, and more,
all driven by code. Wearable microcontrollers are
often circular in form, and can be both sewn and
soldered to. All the boards listed below are washable.
There are many wearable microcontrollers to
choose from, and scores of wearable components
that you can connect to. Let’s take a look at
some great microcontrollers specifically designed
for wearables:1 LILYPAD ARDUINO
LilyPad is the original sewable microcontroller,
invented by Leah Buechley and produced by
SparkFun. This is the board that ignited the DIY
wearable movement when it was released in 2007.
Today, there are other boards based on Buechley’s
iconic design, and even the LilyPad itself comes
in several different flavours. The LilyPad line also
includes sewable LEDs, sensors, buttons, switches,
battery holders, and more.2 ADAFRUIT FLORA
Inspired by the original LilyPad Arduino, the FLORA
wearable platform by Adafruit is powerful, easy
to use, and supported by a massive library of
tutorials created by Adafruit and its community.
Work through a few Adafruit tutorials, and you’ll be
designing your own wearable projects in no time. The
FLORA line includes sewable versions of powerful
components like GPS, a Bluetooth module, and
NeoPixels, Adafruit’s highly addictive individually-
addressable LEDs.3 ADAFRUIT GEMMA
GEMMA is a 1 inch diameter version of FLORA that’s
perfect for smaller projects that only require a few
inputs and outputs. It’s great for beginners, and canA
Wearable Tech
This is the
board that
ignited
the DIY
wearable
movement
when
it was
released
in 2007
FEATURE
CODING HELP
If you’re new to code, fear not – tutorials and example
projects abound on the internet and it takes minutes
to get up and running with example sketches in the
Arduino software. Start with simple code provided in
tutorials, and you’ll learn to modify it to suit your needs
and do more. There are also visual programming aides
that make coding simpler: try MakeCode by Microsoft,
or Xod. When you’re ready to write your own code,
check out CircuitPython, a derivative of the programming
language MicroPython, released and supported by
Adafruit. CircuitPython aims to make it easy for complete
beginners to write code for their microcontrollers.For wearable
tutorials, coding
lessons, and more,
check out:
learn.adafruit.com
learn.sparkfun.com
wearabletutorials.com
kobakant.at/DIY
instructables.com/
howto/wearables