Afroditi’s Arduino Lilypad projects

Afroditi Psarra has used the versatile Arduino Lilypad (ATmega168V or ATmega328V) to power various Maker projects, including those involving embroidery, soft circuits and DIY electronics.

“The LilyPad has allowed me to explore the [relationship] between crafts connected with women’s labour such as knitting, sewing and embroidery with electronics and creative coding – as well as the creation of soft interfaces of control. In my project Lilytronica I am currently using the Lilypad to create embroidered synthesizers that I use to perform live,” Psarra told the official Arduino blog.

“Considering that the LilyPad is not designed for creating sound, and you only have digital outputs and 8 MHz clock speed, the result is a very rough, primitive sound quality, which I personally like a lot. In my interactive performance Idoru, I am exploring the body as an interface of control of sound through the use of wearables. In this project, the LilyPad acts as a controller, [while] the sound is produced in SuperCollider.”

According to Psarra, wearable computing is likely on track to connect our physical bodies with the Internet of Things (IoT).

“I personally feel that we can certainly expect developments around wearables and locative media and various medical applications,” she said. “For now, the most interesting applications in wearables are around fashion, art and music, and they require a certain craftsmanship to be made.”

Interested in learning more about wearable tech? Check out what Atmel has been up to in this rapidly evolving space.