Circuitry & Sewing

I first started building my circuit around the code I had and using the ports that were in the code. I originally wanted to use a rechargeable battery pack hooked up to a wireless receiver patch so that the stuffed animal can be powered without being plugged in. However, that idea was scrapped by the time of building the circuit due to the risk of overheating. I instead opted for the same battery pack with an opening for a charger to fit through. I also originally wanted to use a protoboard shield/hat for the circuit to allow for needing more than one wire going to certain pins which I instead combated by splitting off the wires and switching to the analog side. Soldering the circuit was also a huge pain because despite the multiple times I attempted it, the circuit didn't work reliably. Despite this, it worked consistently enough for the people at the expo to be none the wiser.

Building: Text

Building: Pro Gallery

The sewing aspect was the easiest part of the project, but that doesn't mean it was easy. I had more knowledge and experience in sewing than in the other parts of the project such as coding. The pattern was worded weirdly at times and the pieces didn't always fit together right which was a struggle to figure out. The main challenge with sewing was figuring out the internal pocket inside of the stuffed animal to allow for washings. I needed to figure out the size of the T-shaped pouch for the circuit to fit into and how the battery would fit in the body of the stuffed animal. I decided for the pouch to just be for the circuitry and to leave a hole open for the cord connecting the Arduino and the battery to fit through. I also made the decision to make this project 100% cotton including the shredded cotton ball stuffing because it is less likely to melt than synthetic materials.

Building: Text