Materials for Skip

Here's a link to our full concept!

CONTROLLER MATERIALS RESEARCH

-Connector materials
--Stretchy materials
--Sensors

Any kind of yarn will work, especially something with at least 2-4% Lycra/Elastane/Spandex.
--http://www.imrsheep.com/stretch.html
--https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120501065322AAEeZqc
Avoid boa yarns--harder to see the stitch while knitting or crocheting.
Stretch fabrics might work (sewing conductive thread), but I'm not certain.

Spring scales are too long for our purposes.
--https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_scale

Same for push pull gauges, and they're expensive.

--http://www.forcegauge.net/en/category/mechanical-forcegauge-en

--https://www.google.com/search?q=force+gauge&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=force+gauge&safe=active&tbm=shop

But we don't need either-just stretching the conductive cord will work.

--http://www.instructables.com/id/Circular-Knit-Stretch-Sensor/

Some handcrafted sensors

--http://www.adafruit.com/datasheets/HandcraftingSensors.pdf

Not useful, but cool

--http://honigmann.com/i437&lang=2

-Ankle band materials
--Construction materials
--Lily pad Arduino
--Sensors

Fabric can be anything, but best if they're the same color and fabric type.  (knits, that sort of thing)

Velcro is a good option for securing the bands to our ankles.  There's also buttons and snaps, if we need them for the aesthetic.

Nope, the plain Arduino board isn't gonna slice it.  We need something thin and decorative.

The only time we'd be looking at our feet is when we move close together for rotation, so that's the only time a light would be helpful.

A proximity sensor could work, size wise--and there's the light sensor we used in class.

--Feedback-sound? over background noises; touch? brief tension on ankle

Article summaries

There is more movement based games in a underdeveloped field--mostly theoretical and health concepts.
Get feedback from users--simple device feedback is better, safety is important, and measure fun.

Look to body motions for ideas--like switches and levers.
Novelty does not equate to sustainability and fun.

Wearable Game Controller Concept

Name (pending): Skip

Two people play Tetris side by side, connected by a stretchy cord at the inside ankles

The device consists of two bands, attached the ankles, with a stretchy cord measuring how much each partner is pulling.  If the left partner is pulling, then the current Tetrimino will move to the left, depending on the tension, and the same goes for the right partner.  If both partners are pulling, however, the piece will move down faster, and when the two move close together, the piece can rotate.  So the two will need to work together to place their pieces as best as possible.

Some of our inspirations were a pair of connected hoodies, described here, a massage vest (two person interaction), detailed here and here, and another, scrapped idea: elbow bands, inspired themselves off exoskeletons and blood pressure arm cuffs.

We tested the general idea with a lightweight, stretchy sweater, during which we came up with the ankle rotation sensor to solve the force isolation problem; the stretchy cord really only measures tension from two people.  It also confirmed the necessity of sturdy, yet removable bands.  (I just tied the sweater on, which works fine on jeans, but not on a bare ankle.  Kept coming off mine.)

The issue of safety also came up; what if someone pulled too hard on the cord, knocking their partner over?  Or when the two move close together, they'd have to be careful not to trip over the connector.  We figured we'd handle that through instruction, although if we can come up with a better idea, that would be great.

Project proposal

Proposal document

Introductions

Salutations!  My name is Valerie, but I do answer to Val if that's too long for you.

(It sure seems that way with postal services.  I've seen some strange spellings of my name.  And that's not counting my last name!)

This is mostly a process blog, so what I post here will be a lot of rough sketches and construction photos, leading up a finished product.

This isn't the fanciest example, but this powerpoint-made-into-a-pdf should give an idea as to what the process pieces aren't.

(I realize these are all digital photographs.  I can update this with some more

physical works, but that'll take some time.  Editing isn't the problem--

it's organizing the layout.  Or that's just me going overboard.)

This picture of me, on the other hand?

...Yeah.  One word of advice: if you have a camera on your laptop, never use it, and just cover it with a sticker.