Hacknotes 2009-03-31

Sew up two prototype armatures

Step 1: Go to fabric store

Frabric Outlet is a block and a half away down Mission street and has awesome selection. Sweet.

Before gathering fabrics, a color discussion. Conclusion: black is boring, but this thing is gonna get dirty, so boring wins.

Some bright green mesh, because that will keep the wiring visible and that would be awesome. Downside is that it is hard to sew and easily torn; Production Models might need something more robust.
Some 1.5" plain ribbon and
Some 1" elastic ribbon, both in case the mesh doesn't work out.

Our prototype design has:
- A 2" elastic band as the exterior to the anklet armature and as the interior two seperate 1" bands of mesh.Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination
- The lower of these bands is divided into pockets, open only at the top, in a repeating pattern of 3x0.5" pockets followed by 1x1.5" pockets.Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination
- The small pockets can hold pager motors, and the larger pockets can hold batteries, sensors, and microcontrollers.
- The upper mesh band serves as a flap so is sewn to the elastic only along the top. Along the top of the lower mesh band into which the pockets are sewn is a thin velcro strip, and along the upper mesh band is an opposite velocro strip. When the upper flap is velcro'd down onto the pocket band, it can contain a ribbon cable for the length of the armature, while also allowing for wires going in and out of the pockets.Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination
- On the exterior some velcro is added to hold the ends together adjustably around the leg.Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination
The advantage of this design is that not only can the width of the armature be adjusted, but the number and spacing of pagermotors and electronics is adjustable and can be held securely enough for permanent use at any configuration.