Wearable Tech Projects: a light-up bag #Adafruit #CircuitPlaygroundExpress #MakeCode #Wearables @SophyWong @HackSpaceMag @Adafruit @MSMakeCode
From the new book Wearable Tech Projects by Sophy Wong – Flaunt your skills with a light-up bag! Make an interactive tote bag with a Circuit Playground Express, Microsoft MakeCode, and a little sewing.
Need a project idea for your brand new Circuit Playground Express (CPX)? Make it a wearable one! The CPX has oodles of sensors and NeoPixel LEDs built in, so no soldering or breadboarding is required to set up a circuit. You’ll want to take it with you everywhere so you can tinker whenever inspiration strikes you.
In this project, we’ll sew it onto a tote for coding on the go! The CPX is a little powerhouse, and we’ll use the on-board accelerometer, capacitive touch capabilities, and ten NeoPixel LEDs to run some fun animations on the front of the tote bag. To make our program interactive, we’ll add snaps for simple touch-sensitive buttons. Each button will play a different NeoPixel animation when pressed. While we’re at it, we’ll use the accelerometer to trigger a flashy animation if you happen to run, skip, or jump while out and about with your bag.
The project in this tutorial is programmed in Microsoft MakeCode – the easy to use block-based language (although if you’re comfortable with CircuitPython, that is an alternative not reviewed in the tutorial).
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!
Comments Off on Wearable Tech Projects: a light-up bag #Adafruit #CircuitPlaygroundExpress #MakeCode #Wearables @SophyWong @HackSpaceMag @Adafruit @MSMakeCode
