Swish sensor

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imagin8or
 
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Swish sensor

Post by imagin8or »

I'm planning a project to create a light-up skirt for my daughter. I'm aiming for an effect where it lights up in response to swishing about, which she does. A lot.

I'm happy with a bunch of sew-in neopixels distributed about the lower half of the skirt, but I'm struggling with sensing a swish.

The choice I can see so far is between multiple accelerometers (expensive option) and some kind of setup with the stretchy conductive rubber. The problem with the rubber is that it will impede the swishing itself, which is not the idea.

A vibration sensor might notice movement, but wouldn't be sensitive to direction.

Am I missing something? Would LDRs and fibres work better?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Swish sensor

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

How would you define the motion of a 'swish'? I would think that something like an IMU (combination accelerometer/gyro/compass) would work.

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imagin8or
 
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Re: Swish sensor

Post by imagin8or »

A rotational/lateral motion resulting in a wave of fabric washing around the body. I'm hoping to detect the difference between that and a twirl, where the whole skirt rotates together.

If she swishes, I'd like the lights to follow the wave of the skirt, and if she twirls it could all light up together. Hence multiple accelerometers.

A single one to start with is probably a more achievable initial goal, though I wondered about a set of vibrational sensors spaced around the hem.

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Re: Swish sensor

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Detecting the complex motion of the skirt would be difficult. But I think you could detect the motion of the body that initiates it. If I understand correctly, a "swish" would be initiated by an abbreviated rotation of the hips, while a "twirl" would require a more prolonged rotation. If you were to attach a gyro at hip-level, you could distinguish between a short-lived "swishing" motion and a prolonged twirl.

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imagin8or
 
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Re: Swish sensor

Post by imagin8or »

Now that is a very interesting thought.

I might try, then, having the IMU on a pin so we can test out different positions.

Brilliant, thank you!

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