Hello everyone,
This is Jessica Salazar, and this is my last blog post. I know I said that previously with my bubble mask project but I am 98% sure this is actually my last. Anyways, Make-O-Rama was last Friday and I was able to present my lit jacket. Note how I did not call it a musical jacket. The jacket didn’t deserve such a name because I wasn’t able to fully incorporate the musical aspect to it. I did add a piezo but because I couldn’t place it in certain inputs (due to the conductive fabric and neo pixels) I wasn’t able to make it play a Mario theme song. That’s another thing, I wasn’t able to program the jacket to the tone of the music nor the touch of the conductive fabric. All in all I wasn’t able to do much with it except add the neo pixels and program them to a pac-man theme.
The Make-O-Rama event itself went well. There were a couple of individuals who stopped by and thought my jacket was pretty cool. The lights were certainly bright so it did catch people eyes; however I wasn’t able to fully explain the whole journey to make my lit jacket. I was a bit disappointed about that detail but I was happy people thought it was a good idea and they were impressed by the changes the lights went through. (I tried to add a video but that was unsuccessful, but here is a close up of the piezo and the Adafruit Flora)
Despite the outcome of my project, the only thing I would truly do differently would be to order a color sensor. In my previous blog post I explained that I didn’t have the correct materials, or at least the same materials required in the Instructables page, but I liked learning about the Adafruit flora. Personally I thought that the programing and conductive threat were the most challenging for my particular project, simply because there were many times I got errors and the neo pixels just refused to light up. Other than that I did have fun programing the neo pixels and when they lit up it was really exciting. The website was also very helpful (https://learn.adafruit.com), and by browsing through to find answers I found a lot of cool project on that website and it really made me want to try other things. Had I more time, money, and the right resources I would like to tackle a similar project such as the FLORAbrella. The image below demonstrates the project, and it is just too cool to look at and really fun.
Overall if anyone is interested in doing something similar. I do recommend tackling the project with a friend simply because it decreases the amount of time in a particular section. In addition just having two heads in general can be better than one, especially with problem solving. In addition, it would be even better if they know how to code or program. However you don’t have to know how to code if you follow the steps carefully, have the correct materials, and have patience.
From this project I learned that time management is really important. In the beginning of the semester we had a sheet with all the days we were in class (a calendar of sorts) and the weekend. We were to add all the things we planned to do on that day and what we would bring to class the very next day. I thought it was very cleaver, and I think I would use something similar in college. I’ve heard that college consist of various group projects and having something like that for each person would really help with the organization and time management, which are pretty crucial for the outcome.
All in all this was a fun project, and it was interesting working alone. Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this long blog post and I wish you luck if you decide to pursue a similar project.
Sincerely,
Jessica P. Salazar _(-.-)_ ^-^ ^.^ \(^.^)/
ps. I plan to dissemble my jacket because unfortunately most of my materials are the property of the school and I can’t keep them. However it will forever live in my memory through pictures and the pain of the struggles. I believe I deserve a solid 90 because of my accommodations and willingness to try and solve programming issues through pure will and no prior knowledge whatsoever.
StarPathDesign 
I think that even though you didn’t get to do what you wanted it to do, that you still showed progress into your design and product. Maybe, you can continue to work on it to make the jacket work the way you want it to. Or maybe next years students can tackle the project and make the Mario theme song play in the jacket. Overall, very cool project! It something that is different and unique to produce.- Deanna W
Hi! I’m sorry to hear that you couldn’t get your jacket to do what you wanted it to do. However, we were on a time crunch and hopefully if we had more time to develop all our prototypes that you could have gotten your jacket to work. Your idea is very creative. I like how even though you struggled to get the jacket to do what your initial plan/idea that you continued to make a unique product. Your product definitely reflected your hard work and I can’t wait to see what people come up with, with you as their inspiration.
Gabriela R.
Your jacket is really interesting. I know how you feel with your final product not working like how you wanted because a similar thing happened to our group. However, the product that you did have was just as great even without the music. I like how you accomplished so much by doing this alone, because I feel that I would not be able to get so much done. But I did enjoy reading about your project! -Ramesha C.
It’s so cool that you even got as far as you did with your project. I was wondering if you considered adding the music later on and actually walking around college with it on playing music and entertaining the masses. Over all I really think that you being able to do what you did with the resources that you had was very stupendous and amazing. Is Adafruit really easy to learn or do you think you might of been able to switch to an easier program? But your product came out amazing and I really hope you continue maing these amazing things -Sabrina Lomeli
I got to the see your final product and I thought it was pretty cool because it was unique. The music would have helped but the fact that you accomplished the light with so little time and by yourself was great. This could be one of those project that future senior can finish and would be awesome for them to created into something much bigger that could be incorporated into the school.
MFlores
Dear Jessica,
I agree with you, time management is a very important thing to keep in mind when working with one of these projects, I myself had to deal with this problem as well. As for your lit jacket, I apologize that I wasn’t able to go see it during the Make-o-Rama but I do remember observing from time to time you working on your product. I do remember when you told me that you wanted to add music to your jacket but even though you weren’t able to do that, I still think that adding lights to your jacket was pretty cool. For your next project I think that you should consider adding light sensors to your jacket, maybe like in the umbrella, include different colored lights. Because your first idea consisted of adding music in your jacket, maybe you could add sensors that played music whenever you wanted or when coming across certain objects. The coding may be a little difficult but it will be worth it in the end. Overall, I really like your product, it came out amazing, good job Jessica.
– Jennifer Martinez
This project really caught my eye because there is so much that one can do with lights and sensors. Combing the different aspects made the design very unique. I feel like it wold be a great idea to continue working on this project(whoever may want to tackle a product such as this), and customize the product even further with more time. You did a great job and the outcome was very cool.
-Carina Carrasco
Hey Jessica awesome work! As you mentioned you didn’t quite exactly accomplish what you set out to do, but what you did make is amazing in itself. How many people can say I created a jacket that lights up? Let me tell you, not too many. I’ve never even sewn a design on a jacket, you made it light up! How cool is that? Super cool! Give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve learned some amazing skills through those hardships that will surely make you a valuable team member. Patience is a virtue. Not many can tackle a project such as yours without wanting to punch something. I admire that you stuck through with it and continued to work on your jacket. Amazing work!
-Libertad
The idea of your project is really different and interesting. Not only was the idea cool, but what you have accomplished is awing to me. Personally I have tried coding projects and they never really end up functioning, so seeing that you have had successes with it makes me wonder what your secret is. When I tried to learn some coding to help with a project I used: http://code.org/learn. This helped a bit, but I wanted to know what you used to assist you in troubleshooting. I can only imagine how incredible your jacket would have been if you had the proper materials and were able to incorporate music. I could see so many kids running around in light up sketchers and in their matching musical and vibrantly lit jackets. I can relate to how you addressed your need for time management. Like you, I have learned a lot about how to better plan out and be a proactive student rather than a reactive one. Thank you for sharing your experience!
-Sara Espinosa
I love this idea and I think you could really market it to an audience. It’s too bad the music aspect didn’t work out but I bet if you were given more time and resources it would have been great. Overall I think you did a great job and came up with a creative idea and executed it really well. Good job!
-Oceane Maher
I saw your final product and I thought that it was amazing! It’s a real shame you had to dissemble it. Even though it didn’t work the way you wanted it too, the design was cool and I could easily see it being sold in stores. What really impressed me was that you accomplished all that you did alone. I’ve seen groups of people accomplish much less. I can only imagine how much greater this product would have come out with the right materials and more time for programming. Good job, it still came out great.
Ana F
Hey Jessica, your project was really great if you look at the big picture you really accomplished a lot and you came up with a great idea you actually got to execute probably not the way you wanted to. But change is everywhere for better or worse. You should really try to see if you can make an awesome Halloween costume you never know you might start a demand for your final product and next thing you know you’ll have a business.
-Desiree R.
Hey Jessica! So I’ve commented on your blog maybe like 3 times already and for some reason those 3 times it just never showed up
Well I wanted to comment on your musical jacket and tell you this is a brilliant idea, and that I believe you are very smart because I bet it took a lot of understanding, patience, and coding to be able to come up with your final product. Not only is it a cool project to work on but this musical jacket can be used in many different ways. This jacket can be used as protection, you can wear it at night and bring awareness towards you. As well as serve as a cool style of clothing. You should come up with a new fashion trend perhaps? Now I am wondering what will happen next? do you plan on making new clothing? or just keep innovating the one you have right now? Well over all your Project was amazing! I loved it! it was very interesting, keep up the good work!
-Leidy Contreras