International Workshop on Entertainment using Wearable Computing: Dancing with the Arduino Flora

The objective of this course is to explore the notion of entertainment using wearable computing devices.  Although the idea of using wearable computing devices so that users can engage more interactively with music is not new, the recent introduction of the Arduino Flora platform by Adafruit offers an easy way to create new applications. The Flora is a round, sewable, Arduino-compatible microcontroller. It is small (45mm diameter, weighing 4.4 grams) and is fabric friendly because all the components are flush to the PCB and won't tear delicate garments. It is simple to connect to external battery packs. The FLORA family has a number of associated sensors and accessories including a 9-DOF Accelerometer/Gyroscope/Magnetometer, an Accelerometer/Compass sensor, a colour sensor, tactile switches, microphone, proximity sensors, a Bluetooth LE module, a GPS module, and NeoPixel LEDs with full 24-bit colour ability and can be chained together. Many of these accessories also have a small form factor and are designed for being sewn onto clothing too. The Flora has built-in USB support and can be programmed using a modified version of the Arduino IDE. Such an array of tools and the fact that it is sewn on makes it a good choice for wearable applications, particularly those involving physical activity. The combination of inertial sensing and proximity sensing to determine how a user moves and if there are others close by, along with Neopixel LEDs as a display medium suggests a potential for novel non-verbal dynamic interaction within a dance performance.