Swirling Mustache

This was my second project in my Object class at the Atlas Institute at CU Boulder. In this project my goal was to create a switch within my circuit. I decided I was going to make a face that had LED eyes that would light up when activated by the switch. I decided to create a face because I wanted to make a project that would be silly but also interactive, and I got the idea after brainstorming that my circuit playground could be used as a nose in my piece. I wanted to create a project that really "melted" into the threadboard and used the threadboard elements to overall enhance the face. I created my switch by connecting a conductive thread to my mustache; the mustache was able to move back and forth because I used a magnet to create a hinge. I named this piece "Swirling Mustache" because the mustache is the most important item in this piece.

(1) Threadboard

(1) Adafruit Circuit Playground

(2) LEDs

Paper

Fabric

Conductive threads

Magnets

A micro usb to usb cord

This schematic displays the set up of my LEDs, switch, and power source within my project. In this project, my LEDs are connected in parallel rather than a series and this can be seen in my schematic drawing.

I started by setting up the placement of my circuit playground in the middle, and then I started using the conductive wire to create the frame of the face. I placed the LEDs where I wanted the eyes to be and made sure the conductive thread was laid out appropriately to represent this. I used the thread that connects the LEDs to my ground to create the outline of the bridge of a nose, and I decided to used the circuit playground to represent the nose on my figure.

For my face setup, I added in pieces of paper to create facial features like the eyebrows and the mouth. I had originally wanted the mouth to be the switch, but my professor helped me better understand how a switch worked and I ended up using a paper mustache as my switch instead. I used a piece of fabric to represent a beauty mark and to also act as an insulator on the ground thread. I would connect conductive thread to the magnet holding the beauty mark in place to help produce my switch on the mustache (as can be seen in the next step).

For my final product I was able to get my mustache to act as a switch and light up the eyes as I wanted. Due to some of the limits of using conductive thread, a threadboard, and magnets my mustache did not line up on the face as I wanted, so I had to try to realign the mouth to match the mustache. Overall, I really enjoyed creating this project because I have not really had an experience with creating a switch within a circuit. This project helped me gain a much better understanding of what it means to create a switch; the physical application also helped me understand how switches can make a piece much more interactive!