New Video of Kyun_Kun’s Amazing Robotic Wings #WearableWednesday
Making is fun, but most of all it is magical. There is nothing like the ability to imagine something and one day bring it to life. I happened to discover Tokyo artist/engineer Kyun_Kun through a post on Digital Trends and felt such a connection to her work. She recently wowed people at SXSW with her METCALF clione robotic wings, bringing her own dreams to life. Kyun is only 22, but her imagination and abilities make her an old soul. Here’s her bio translated from her site.
In pursuit of a fusion with machines, she currently creates wearable robots as fashion accessories while studying mechanical engineering. She does her own metalworking, electronics fabrication, and tailoring.
As you can imagine, most people specialize in one of those areas, but to know them all—that’s just genius.
One of the interesting aspects of the video is that it shows both the METCALF and METCALF clione models of the wings. The original wings look more boxy and the plating is fully visible. On the newer model, plastic patterned armor gives a lighter look and the end caps appear smaller. For those of you interested in the the software…
It’s built around the V-Sido Connect microcomputer system, and the smartphone app controls all the movements, along with the opening and closing of the wings.
As with most harness devices, you can see some adjustments being made in the video. There is probably a tendency for the wings to slide back. Supposedly the weight of the wings is similar to a laptop filled backpack, which isn’t a bad trade-off considering the fun that can be had with an audience. Kyun’s wings have already been synched onstage for an AKB48 concert—sweet! Celebs seem to be a good choice for fashion this remarkable, along with robotics lovers. If you consider yourself the rare fashionista that likes servos mixed in with your maxi skirt, you should definitely look at our Getting Started With FLORA learning guide. You can pair this stitch or solder microcontroller with all sorts of sensors and even a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) module that will allow you to control your fashion through your phone. It’s a great way to jump into fantasy fashion that will make Astro Boy jealous. Do it!!
Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: CircuitPython 9.2.1, What is DMA, PyConUS 2025 and More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!