Jeri’s Motion-Detecting LED Dress

Craft & Design Technology
YouTube player

I love how Jeri Ellsworth almost always shows up at events with an impressive hack, from the infamous NES Purse, to the “Brain Bulb” she wore at Maker Faire Bay Area, to this glorious geek sartorial, the Barbot LED Dress. She wore this to the BarBot 2011 event at this year’s RoboGames. Underneath the dress is a string of delay chain LEDs triggered by a PIR (Passive Infrared Sensor) motion sensor detecting people around her and flashing patterns in the dress in response. The sensor and circuitry (and power) are housed in the vintage camera case around her neck. So cool.

Looking at this makes me imagine a future world of super-bright celebrity makers at award ceremonies. Instead of “Who made your outfit?,” the question would be “How did you make your outfit?,” and they’d all be as awesome as this. A nerd can dream. Hmm… maybe that should be an aspect of The Makey Awards ceremony which will be happening at World Maker Faire.

YouTube player

Here, in an earlier element14 video, Jeri explains how to create a simple PIR circuit for motion-triggered applications.

More:

2 thoughts on “Jeri’s Motion-Detecting LED Dress

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK