Wouldn’t it be nice if our clothing did more than just sit on our bodies? What if they monitored our temperature or heart rate like a Fitbit but without having to wear a Fitbit. That clothing doesn’t exist yet but you can dabble in the science of it. The LilyPad Development Simple is a set to help you get started making e-textiles.
This is a beginner’s set to help budding engineers (or seamstresses and tailors looking to up their game) turn their everyday fabric projects into responsive e-textiles. The set uses an Arduino board and components. Included in the set are a LilyPad Simple board, 4 LED boards and a buzzer. The idea is to give newbies a few simple components to get their hands dirty.
Beginner is a sort of a misnomer here because it means that one does not need to be a master engineer to begin to use this set but you should have some understanding of the technology (if you don’t there’s also a very cool book that you can pick up). You do need to know how to sew, the whole thing uses conductive thread. The LilyPad Development Simple is $49.95.