Making a Color-Changing LilyPad Patch

Sew a patch that glows in any color. A single RGB LED holds red, green and blue elements; by fading each one with the microcontroller's PWM pins you mix millions of colors and cycle through the rainbow. The e-textile version of the classic RGB colour-mixing project.

متوسط

1-2 hours

التعليمات

Sew the board and RGB LED

Sew a LilyPad Arduino onto felt. The RGB LED has four legs — bend each into a small loop so it can be sewn. Wire the common cathode (the longest leg) to -, and the red, green and blue legs to pins 5, 6 and 9. Keep the four lines from touching each other.

المواد لهذه الخطوة:

LilyPad Arduino Simple Board1 قطعة

LED - RGB Diffused Common Cathode - 5mm1 قطعة

Conductive Thread - 60g (Stainless Steel)1 بكرة

لوح لبّاد صوفي1 ورقة

الأدوات المطلوبة:

إبر خياطة يدوية

Connect the programmer

Plug the LilyPad FTDI onto the programming header and connect the USB cable. Open the Arduino IDE and select the LilyPad Arduino board and its serial port.

الأدوات المطلوبة:

حاسوب عليه بيئة Arduino IDE

LilyPad FTDI Basic Breakout - 5V

كبل USB-B

Upload the color-mixing sketch

Paste this sketch and upload. It fades the LED through red, green, blue and the mixes using analogWrite (PWM).

lilypad_color_changing.inoarduino

// Mix colors on a common-cathode RGB LED.
// Red/Green/Blue legs on PWM pins 5, 6, 9; common cathode to - (GND).

const int RED_PIN = 5;
const int GREEN_PIN = 6;
const int BLUE_PIN = 9;

void setColor(int r, int g, int b) {
  analogWrite(RED_PIN, r);     // 0 = off, 255 = full
  analogWrite(GREEN_PIN, g);
  analogWrite(BLUE_PIN, b);
}

void setup() {
  pinMode(RED_PIN, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(GREEN_PIN, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(BLUE_PIN, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
  setColor(255, 0, 0);   delay(500);  // red
  setColor(0, 255, 0);   delay(500);  // green
  setColor(0, 0, 255);   delay(500);  // blue
  setColor(255, 255, 0); delay(500);  // yellow
  setColor(0, 255, 255); delay(500);  // cyan
  setColor(255, 0, 255); delay(500);  // magenta
  setColor(255, 255, 255); delay(500);// white
}

Watch it cycle, then mix your own

The LED fades through the colors on its own. Make your own by changing the three numbers in setColor(red, green, blue) — each 0–255. Note: at the LilyPad's lower voltage blue and green look a little dimmer than red, which is normal for RGB LEDs.

Go wireless and wear it

Plug a 3.7 V LiPo into the LilyPad Arduino's JST connector and switch on — the higher voltage also makes the colors brighter. Sew the felt onto a bag or costume for a colour-changing glow.

المواد لهذه الخطوة: