Hacking & Building

and only one neopixel works -__- it has a short. Shorts happen when there is nothing to restrict the flow of electricity. However if you noticed I made a lot of changes. Originally I was using conductive ribbon and another piece of fabric but due to, too many technical difficulties because the threads were too close, i decided not too. I wish I would have went this idea from the beginning. 

So today our final project was due and so far I completed the actual build, although it has a few changes. I attached a ribbon with conductive thread to a regular flower headband that I already owned. However, on my conductive ribbon, it had 4 different lines of conductive thread which I used one for ground, another power, and another as my dataline. Before anything, I had to connect the sew the Flora onto my conductive ribbon separated by a piece of non conductive fabric. Specifically, I connected one side of the thread to the ground thread and the other side to VBATT on the Flora, ground basically controls the flow of electricity Once I decided which threads would be used for what, I used conductive thread to connect the Flora Board to the color sensor. I had to connect SDA, which is a data pin that stands for serial data and SCL is a pin that stands for serial clock on both the Flora Board and color sensor. As well as connecting ground between the Flora and color sensor and the 3V to 3.3V. In order to seal the knots I used clear nail polish, which made it hard so it was easier to cut. Next, I started adding my neopixels by connecting D6 on the flora board to the top loop of the neopixel but making sure the arrows are going in the direction I want the power to run. After making sure it's connected to my dataline I proceeded to connect the rest of the neopixels. I originally was going to use 8 but decided to use 5 at the last minute. I wanted them to be about 2.5 inches apart. Once I connected all my neopixels to my dataline, i sewed down the the sides with conductive thread to power and the other to ground. Once my actually build was done I made sure all the knots were sealed correctly and not touching. I borrowed my code from an adafruit tutorial, the only trouble I had with this code was just making sure I had the correct libraries in the right place and changed the number of neopixels. However, the difficult part came when trying to power everything. Once I plugged my mini USB into both the flora and computer, the color sensor would come on but not the neopixels. In order to figure out the issue, I tested it with a multimeter to check the continuity to see if I had any possible shorts. Like I guessed, it did which resulted in me having to redo all the threading. (shoutouts to Muhammed, Brandon & Lisa for their help)

Coding

So as far as the coding goes, I had to make a couple of changes. Not only did I have to update the arduino but also had to add the neopixel library and the color sensor library. I only had problems with the actual downloads but Dawn helped me out (shoutouts to her). Overall I pretty much kept the coding the same.

#include <Wire.h> #include "Adafruit_TCS34725.h" #include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>

// Parameter 1 = number of pixels in strip // Parameter 2 = pin number (most are valid) // Parameter 3 = pixel type flags, add together as needed: //   NEO_RGB     Pixels are wired for RGB bitstream //   NEO_GRB     Pixels are wired for GRB bitstream //   NEO_KHZ400  400 KHz bitstream (e.g. FLORA pixels) //   NEO_KHZ800  800 KHz bitstream (e.g. High Density LED strip) Adafruit_NeoPixel strip = Adafruit_NeoPixel(12, 6, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);

// our RGB -> eye-recognized gamma color byte gammatable[256];

Adafruit_TCS34725 tcs = Adafruit_TCS34725(TCS34725_INTEGRATIONTIME_50MS, TCS34725_GAIN_4X);

void setup() {  Serial.begin(9600);  Serial.println("Color View Test!");

 strip.begin();  strip.show(); // Initialize all pixels to 'off'

 if (tcs.begin()) {    Serial.println("Found sensor");  } else {    Serial.println("No TCS34725 found ... check your connections");    while (1); // halt!  }

 // thanks PhilB for this gamma table!  // it helps convert RGB colors to what humans see  for (int i=0; i<256; i++) {    float x = i;    x /= 255;    x = pow(x, 2.5);    x *= 255;

   gammatable[i] = x;          //Serial.println(gammatable[i]);  }

 for (int i=0; i<3; i++){ //this sequence flashes the first pixel three times as a countdown to the color reading.    strip.setPixelColor (0, strip.Color(188, 188, 188)); //white, but dimmer-- 255 for all three values makes it blinding!    strip.show();    delay(1000);    strip.setPixelColor (0, strip.Color(0, 0, 0));    strip.show();    delay(500);  }

 uint16_t clear, red, green, blue;

 tcs.setInterrupt(false);      // turn on LED

 delay(60);  // takes 50ms to read

 tcs.getRawData(&red, &green, &blue, &clear);

 tcs.setInterrupt(true);  // turn off LED

 Serial.print("C:\t"); Serial.print(clear);  Serial.print("\tR:\t"); Serial.print(red);  Serial.print("\tG:\t"); Serial.print(green);  Serial.print("\tB:\t"); Serial.print(blue);

 // Figure out some basic hex code for visualization  uint32_t sum = red;  sum += green;  sum += blue;  sum += clear;  float r, g, b;  r = red; r /= sum;  g = green; g /= sum;  b = blue; b /= sum;  r *= 256; g *= 256; b *= 256;  Serial.print("\t");  Serial.print((int)r, HEX); Serial.print((int)g, HEX); Serial.print((int)b, HEX);  Serial.println();

 Serial.print((int)r ); Serial.print(" "); Serial.print((int)g);Serial.print(" ");  Serial.println((int)b );  colorWipe(strip.Color(gammatable[(int)r], gammatable[(int)g], gammatable[(int)b]), 0); }

// Fill the dots one after the other with a color void colorWipe(uint32_t c, uint8_t wait) {  for(uint16_t i=0; i<strip.numPixels(); i++) {      strip.setPixelColor(i, c);      strip.show();      delay(wait);  } }

void loop() {

 //loop is empty because it only takes the color reading once on power up! Turn the scarf off and on again to change the color.

So I've decided that I want to continue with the flower crown, except I want it to be more interactive which is why I decided I want it to be able to detect color. I want my flowers to reflect w.e color you would want your flowers to be. The only concern I have about this project is how I will make the flowers reflect the color and how. I'm not sure if I should put the the components that will reflect the color on the flowers or behind the flowers. I also got my inspiration from two others videos, which I combined and made my own project. However, in their projects they use different software besides Arduino. I'm not sure if Arduino provides similar components (pretty sure they do) but if they don't I guess I'll have to come out of pocket. :( it'll be worth it though. 

 Bill of materials (cont'd) 

 - flora board (or Arduino board) 

- flora color sensor (Arduino color sensor) 

- 3xAAA battery pack 

- conductive thread (maybe, maybe not) 

- wires (lots of those) 

 As far as the coding, both projects provide a code so I'll have to adjust them in order for them to work for my project. I know this process is going to be difficult, as easy as it sounds but I'm excited because I really looking forward to making this. I also realize there might be many changes throughout this process but I'm not worried about that. 

https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixel-tiara/build-it https://learn.adafruit.com/chameleon-scarf/tools-and-supplies

So I decided that I wanted to create a flower crown or maybe a correlation of a flower crown and a hat with LED lights. The reason I thought about using a hat because it will be easier to hide whatever noticeable components I might use. I thought about this because I love flower crowns and not only is it the season for it, especially since Coachella music festival is around this time but its super cute to wear.

Idea of bill of materials

- Flowers

- LED’s

- NeoPixels (maybe, maybe not)

- Arduino (maybe, maybe not)

- Battery pack (maybe, maybe not)

- Floral wire

- Floral tape

I literally just thought of this project and I’m pretty excited to try it out. If all goes well, I’ll wear it on my birthday (: (May 3rd)

These are links to a few of my inspirations 

http://laurenconrad.com/blog/2014/10/diy-how-to-make-flower-crowns/

So my team and I updated our code as well as our project all together. These are the tools we used. However, we decided we wanted to use a button as an input in order for the LED to light up. Not only do we want it to light up we want the serial monitor to print “I love you”. So far we got the statement to come up on the serial print but unfortunetly we are still having technical difficulties with the circuit and the switch. The code runs without any actual human interaction but we are trying to make it work with the push button. The issue we encountered was that it sometimes worked when pushing the button and sometimes didn't. Overall, it works just not the way we want it to.

The actual built altogether

Code

So I’m doing a group project with two of my classmates (Romario & Brandon). We decided we wanted to create a teddy bear that have LEDs that light up and say “I Love You” in the serial monitor. In order to do this, we must create a code within the arduino program. For now we know we need a teddy bear, push button, jumper wires, resistor, and arduino board. I’m pretty sure the list will probably expand once we begin to put the bear together. 

So far, we created a code, but unfortunately there are a couple of errors. Once we tweak it, I’ll update the post to show the changes.

Coding int contactPoint = 0; // meaning that the spot of conductivity hasnt been activated

This project is really pissing me off. >=/

Basically I’m building a circuit that will measure the temperature of my skin, in order for this to work, the main ingredient that is needed is a temperature sensor. 

Bill Of Materials

- Arduino board

- Breadboard

- LEDs

- 3 resistors (220 ohm)

- Temperature Sensor (obviously)

This is the built circuit

I believe its suppose to light up when I put my hand near it once its built, but that didn't happen unfortunately ):

Coding

const int sensorPin = A0; const float baselineTemp=20.0; void setup (){  Serial.begin(9600); // open serial port  for(int pinNumber = 2; pinNumber <5; pinNumber++){    pinMode(pinNumber, OUTPUT);    digitalWrite(pinNumber, LOW);  } } void loop () {  int sensorVal = analogRead(sensorPin);  Serial.print("Sensor Value : ");  Serial.print(sensorVal);  // convert the ADC reading to voltage  float voltage = (sensorVal/1024.0) * 5.0;  Serial.print(", Volts: ");  Serial.print(voltage);  Serial.print(", degrees C: ");  // convert the voltage to temperature in degrees  float temperature = (voltage - .5) * 100;  Serial.print (temperature);

 if (temperature < baselineTemp){    digitalWrite(2, LOW);    digitalWrite(3, LOW);    digitalWrite(4, LOW);

I obviously have a lot of tweaking to do for this project as well as for a couple other projects but I’m determined to make this work! Its too early for failure. 

*slowly walks away from computer realizing how much work I need to finish*

This project started off easy until I got to the last part which was uploading the code I made and it didn't work and now I'm frustrated. I was asked to build a circuit and program the coding to do what I want (which was to light up 2 of the LEDs when the button pressed and the other one stays lit without button being pressed).

Bill of Materials

- LEDs

- Resistors (220 OHM, 10 KILOHM)

- Switch

- Breadboard

- Arduino Board

Actual Circuit

Coding (that obviously does not work)

int switchState = 0;

void setup() {   pinMode(3, OUTPUT);   pinMode(4, OUTPUT);   pinMode(5, OUTPUT);   pinMode(2, INPUT);

}

void loop(){   switchState = digitalRead(2);     if (switchState == LOW) {     // the button is not pressed     digitalWrite(5, HIGH); // green LED     digitalWrite(4, LOW); // red LED     digitalWrite(3, LOW); // red LED

} else { // button is pressed  digitalWrite(5, LOW);  digitalWrite(4, LOW);  digitalWrite(3, HIGH);    delay(250); // wait for a quarter second  // toggle the LEDs  digitalWrite(5, HIGH);  digitalWrite(4, LOW);  delay(250); //wait for a quarter second  } } // go back to the beginning of the loop

This project allowed me to build circuits, more specifically, I was able to build a series circuit and a parallel circuit. Although no coding was involved, I did use a couple of tools to create the circuits.

Bill of Materials

- 2 Switches (interrupts the flow of electricity, breaking the circuit when open)

- LED (light-emitting diode, a component that converts electrical energy into light energy)

- Resistor (a component that resists the flow of electrical energy)

- Wires

- Breadboard

- Arduino Board

A video of the built circuit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h_KfTsem_U&feature=youtu.be

Series Circuit

This circuit allowed me to press both buttons at the same time and make the LED light up. As opposed to the parallel circuit it I could press either button and the LED would still light up, however it required another wire. (more pics and vids coming soon)

This project was super simple but also pretty cool, I was asked to "change the statement printed in the serial monitor to: “Whew! It’s bright in here!”". The original print from sparkfun, next to the serial print line says "hello world lets read some light sensors", so simply replaced the saying and uploaded and verified it. Although it doesn't show any changes to the protosnap itself, when you open the serial port it shows the saying along with a list of numbers that change somewhat. Basically the more light the protosnap senses the higher the number increases, with the highest being 1023 and the 0 the lowest, obviously. When I put my hand over the device the numbers would go to 0 (originally at about 5,6,7) then when I shine my flashlight it would speed up to 999,1000,1003,1005 but 1006 the highest.

Original Coding

     int lightPin = A0;  // Light sensor's connected to analog pin 0 int lightReading;  // variable we'll use to store light sensor reading void setup() {   /* start up serial at 9600 baud, and print a welcome message */   Serial.begin(9600);   Serial.println("Hello world, let's read some light sensors!"); } void loop() {   lightReading = analogRead(lightPin);  // read the light sensor   Serial.println(lightReading, DEC);  // print the sensor reading   delay(250);  // delay a bit for readability }

Modified Version

   int lightPin = A0;  // Light sensor's connected to analog pin 0

int lightReading;  // variable we'll use to store light sensor reading

void setup() {   /* start up serial at 9600 baud, and print a welcome message */   Serial.begin(9600);   Serial.println("Whew! It's bright in here!"); }

For this project, I was asked to "change the conditional statement so that the LEDs only cycle halfway through the range of brightness". So basically the brightness ranges from 0 to 255, so I chose 127.5 since that's half of 255. It literally changed the brightness, and made a huge difference.

Original

     int redPin = 3;  // red RGB LED int greenPin = 5;  // green RGB LED int bluePin = 6;  // blue RGB LED void setup() {   /* set all LED pins as outputs */   pinMode(redPin, OUTPUT);   pinMode(greenPin, OUTPUT);   pinMode(bluePin, OUTPUT);      analogWrite(redPin, 0);  // Turn the red LED all the way on   analogWrite(greenPin, 255);  // Turn green fully off   analogWrite(bluePin, 220);  // turn blue sort-of on } void loop() {   /* We'll use for loops to cycle the brightness of the red LED */   /* First turn the red LED from all the way on to fully off,   and everywhere in between */   for (int brightness=0; brightness<=255; brightness++) {     analogWrite(redPin, brightness);     delay(5);  // delay a bit for visibility   }   /* Then turn the red LED from off back to on, and everywhere   in between */   for (int brightness=255; brightness>=0; brightness--) {     analogWrite(redPin, brightness);     delay(5);  // delay a bit for visibility   } } Modified Version

    int redPin = 3;  // red RGB LED int greenPin = 5;  // green RGB LED int bluePin = 6;  // blue RGB LED

void setup() {   /* set all LED pins as outputs */   pinMode(redPin, OUTPUT);   pinMode(greenPin, OUTPUT);   pinMode(bluePin, OUTPUT);     analogWrite(redPin, 10);  // Turn the red LED all the way on   analogWrite(greenPin, 255);  // Turn green fully off   analogWrite(bluePin, 220);  // turn blue sort-of on }

The fact that this was really simple and I somehow made it extremely difficult to understand because I overthink things way too much, makes me want to smack myself. Anyway let me proceed to tell you about this new project that I was having trouble with and eventually completed. From my previous post I gave a general definition (link to website's definition) of what a protosnap was. However, I was working with a different component of the protosnap (buzzer), but for this project I was asked to modify the comments for the LED to be off when the button is pressed, otherwise it is on.  

int buttonPin = 7;  // button is connected to pin 7 int ledPin = 13;  // LED's connected to pin 13 int buttonStatus; // variable we'll use to store the button's status void setup() {   pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT);  // Initialize the buttonPin as input   pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);  // The LED is an output } void loop() {   /* First read the status of the button   HIGH = button is NOT pressed   LOW = button IS pressed */   buttonStatus = digitalRead(buttonPin);      if (buttonStatus == LOW) {     digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);  // If the button's pressed turn the LED on   }   else {     digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);  // Otherwise, turn the LED off   } }

Above is the original coding, as you can see HIGH represents when the button is not pressed and LOW represents when the button is pressed. You also notice the comments where both HIGH and LOW are and what it is responsible for doing. So in order for me to modify the code to do what I want, I simply switched where HIGH and LOW are and changed the comments to reflect the reaction.

Below is the modified version.

     int buttonPin = 7;  // button is connected to pin 7 int ledPin = 13;  // LED's connected to pin 13

int buttonStatus; // variable we'll use to store the button's status

void setup() {   pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT);  // Initialize the buttonPin as input   pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);  // The LED is an output }

For this project I used Arduino to modify the programming of ProtoSnap, which is an Arduino-compatible development platform aimed at teaching the basics of programming as painlessly as possible. It combines a microcontroller development board, a USB programmer, and various inputs and outputs, and wires them all together. More specifically, I modified the buzzer to buzz longer. Instead of it buzzing for 10 milliseconds, I changed it to 500 milliseconds.

Original coding

Modified Coding

Video's of modification

Original

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9I2cKTy9bI

New & Improved

For my latest project I programmed my arduino LED light to blink. Arduino is an open source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. However I learned a new trick that allowed me to make my LED blink faster. In order for me to do that, I changed small part of the coding. Instead of it originally saying "delay (1000) ; wait a second", I changed it too delay (500); wait half a second. I used the tutorial on the Arduino website to help me complete this project. 

Original coding and in-line comments

Updated coding and in-line comments

Below you will find links of snapchat videos of the results of the process. Hope it helps for understanding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMu-_SsPut4&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1D_l4Z0VBw&feature=youtu.be

So I was introduced to littleBits electronics. It's basically a collection of electronic modules that you can use to create other electronic projects. It includes a variety of different electronics, such as circuits and even an electronic fan. More specifically the kits consists of "power" (circuits), inputs(buttons, switches, sensors) outputs (motion, sound, light) and wires. I was able to draw out some of the components, label and describe them. Below are drawings from my journal, that will hopefully give you a better understanding. If that doesnt work dont, be sure to check on the website  http://littlebits.cc/intro#intro-section-how-it-works