soft circuits

CRAFT Video: LilyPad Arduino 101

CRAFT Video: LilyPad Arduino 101

Get started with the LilyPad Arduino! It’s a sewable microcontroller that lets you embed lights, sounds, sensors, and much more into your wearables, perfect for clothing and accessories. In this video I’ll show you how to attach the LilyPad and power supply to each other, and upload a basic program that blinks an LED. Next time I’ll show some more advanced topics including hooking up a sensor and using it to change the circuit’s behavior.

Twitchie Scorpion

Twitchie Scorpion

I made this scorpion toy with a Twitchie Robot Kit. I’m really afraid of scorpions where I live in Arizona, so I thought a friendly toy would help me get used to them. I made his plush body from some fabric I had around, aiming to make him look like an Arizona bark scorpion, which are tan/yellowish/translucent. Twitchie is Arduino powered and comes pre-programmed, so it’s an excellent kit for beginners in robotics, because no programming is required! You can download and modify the code if you want, and it’s pretty light on the soldering, too. I’d recommend Twitchie for young makers (boys & girls, too!) interested in robotics or moving plush toys. You can buy the Twitchie Robot Kit in the Maker Shed:
http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKTET2

Music is “At the Crack of Noon” by Shuutobi, http://shuutobi.com