A Wearable Seashell Computer

[malinghi]

Guys, I had an idea earlier, let me know what you think. I was at underwater hockey practice earlier, and I was thinking about how I wish I could increase my breathholding. I wish that when I played underwater hockey I had a way to know how long I stay under on average, and how long I stay at the surface. After thinking about it I realized that making something that could know when it was underwater or not is simple, since pool water conducts electricity and air doesn't. The hard part would be making something that could collect that data on when you're head is above the water and when its below it. Then I remembered, there's actually a product designed just for weird crafts projects like this! The LilyPad Arduino is a small, waterproof microcontroller board designed for hobbyists that can be sewn into clothes and wearable stuff.http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardLilyPad

http://www.maffucci.it/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ArduinoLilyPad.jpg

Besides being small and waterproof, its supposed to be relatively easy for people with limited electronics skills, and its relatively inexpensive (the circuit board in the picture is about $22, or you can pay $75 for a beginners kit that comes with popular accessories). You could totally hide this in a seashell hair piece, or some kind or crown, or in a tail. I'm sure we could think of other cool stuff you can do with a very basic computer that fits inside a seashell.

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What do you guys think? Any cool crafts projects coming to mind?

[Mermaid Hamant]

That is awesome!

[AniaR]

whoa whoa whoa. Hold he bus. Underwater Hockey? Explain! lol

[-Annwyn-]

I like it!

[Spindrift]

I love the Arduino! Had to use them a lot last year for class. Coding them might be a bit of a learning curve for someone who hasn't coded for other projects before though. Fortunately there are a lot of websites that offer beginner guides and there are a lot of helpful people on Arduino forums.

[Mermaid Shelly]

You are brilliant! Wow, that solves a very common question that little kids ask too... How are you on the computer if you're a mermaid? ;) Yay! Problem solved!

[Mermaid Lorelei]

This is so awesome!

But I agree... Underwater Hockey?!

[malinghi]

whoa whoa whoa. Hold the bus. Underwater Hockey? Explain! lol


This is so awesome!

But I agree... Underwater Hockey?!

I'm on an underwater hockey team. The sport is played at the bottom of the pool, and involves pushing a puck using a stick about the size of a kitchen knife. You hold your breath while at the bottom and pass to teammates, then surface for air and go back down again. You can see why I'd like to know the ratio of my down time to surface time.

I just made a thread to talk about underwater hockey:
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?1274-Underwater-Hockey

[Mermaid Sirena]

I can't wait to see where the community takes this little device. I see a future in someone programming these little guys and then selling them disguised in mermaidly things.

[Mermaid Saphira]

What can you do with it? It sounds pretty cool! Fill me in?

[sunrise]

This has lots of potential. I've got some ideas now.. and somehow, my life always comes back to learning computer programming.

[malinghi]

What can you do with it? It sounds pretty cool! Fill me in?

That's the cool thing- it isn't designed for any specific tasks. Its for hobbyists to make whatever they can think of. If you go to the website you can see some of the cool things people have made with the LilyPad Arduino. What I described in the first post is an example of the kind of projects you can do with this.

[Mermaid Saphira]

^ Thanks! I'll go check it out :)

[Capt Nemo]

The big trick is dealing with the pressure transducer. Most dive computers turn on/off at about 5-7 feet. You could set it up as a data logger sampling every second, but that will require a lot of memory, like more than the device has, so additional memory will be needed. It would also need to be either dumped directly or dumped to a removable storage device for anaylsis on a computer. Lithium rechargable batteries will keep things small, BUT they don't get along with water very well like sodium or potassium, and must be well sealed. Trying to keep things small, it would be best to have a dedicated circuit board for everything, and not try to add to an existing board.

Good idea for mers, UW hockey, and snorkeling use!

[Anita Mermaid]

This is so exciting!!:yay:

[OrcaMatt]

Lithium rechargable batteries will keep things small, BUT they don't get along with water very well like sodium or potassium, and must be well sealed. Trying to keep things small, it would be best to have a dedicated circuit board for everything, and not try to add to an existing board.Yeah, pretty much came here to say this: the board may be waterproof, but the power supply isn't.

Arduino stuff is neat...I've had the original for a long time, but haven't really don't much significant with it yet. Had an idea though, and oddly enough it gave me an idea for a name for a website.

[Gem Stone]

i was wondering if you had the batteries behind he circut board in a seashell and sealed it off so no water got in (suposing that works) how exactly would it know what to do?

[Terryiaki]

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