You mean besides communicating that we care enough to try to prevent spreading a deadly virus?
But of course masks have their downsides and just plain awkward sides, especially among populations very much used to reading facial expressions hundreds of times throughout the day. Check out this interesting piece from BBC Future that deep dives into the topic.
When it comes to studying faces, the eyes and mouth are the most informative regions because they tend to be the most expressive. We subconsciously analyse their combined movements to figure out what someone is trying to tell us. Even so, each feature alone can communicate certain emotions especially well. The mouth region, in particular, is good for expressing feelings of happiness. Concealing this area can be problematic when wanting to come across as approachable and friendly – which might explain why a number of healthcare workers on the frontline have taken to adhering smiley-faced pictures of themselves onto their medical gowns in a bid to ease patient anxiety.
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 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
