Wireless Controlled Wearable EL Wire Dance Suit

Contributors: bboyho

Making It Better

There’s always room for improvement. I would probably explore additional upgrades and improvements from the following:

• Sew More EL Wire - Now that the suits have been made, I could try to sew more EL wire to the suits and utilize more channels for each dancer. I'd probably sew more intricate shapes instead of just outlining part of the arm and leg with the additional EL Wire.
• Automating the Animation to the Music - Individually programming each channel to the beat was tedious and time consuming. Automating the sequence and syncing it with an audio track using Vixen instead of manually programming the EL Sequencers to trigger the channels would be better and fun to explore in the future for the next iteration.
  • Vixen Lights
  • Bill Porter: Vixeno, Vixen Sequence Conversion for Arduino
• Headless - While the suits were able to light up, each dancer's head lacked any lighting. I'd probably would have added few LEDs to a mask so that the dancers are not headless in the dark (which was later added to Mark V).
• Alternative Wireless Module - It would be interesting to try to use the nRF24L01+, ESP32, ESP8266, or RFM69 to broadcast a signal to the respective EL Sequencers. That would require a slight modification in the code to work with the modules and testing the modules to see if the EL Sequencers were receiving serial.
• Rechargeable Batteries - A 9V alkaline battery was sufficient to power the project. I'd probably try to find a rechargable battery solution.
• 3D Model and Printed Enclosure - The cardboard enclosure was a quick solution but it was a bit bulky. Making a 3D model of an smooth enclosure that had a clip to easily open and close the box would have been better.
• Leg Pouch - A leg pouch or a belt bag/fanny pack would also have been a good alternative to a cardboard box to hold the electronics with the enclosure. If there was more time, I would have sewn a few together or looked into buying it for each student.
• Parachute Buckles - The elastic strips were nice but the students had to tie the enclosure to their waist and leg. A combination of strap adjusters and parachute buckles would have been quicker to attach the enclosure to each student.