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SciHackDay project; Temperature reading face mask
Science Hack Day 2020 began as has become tradition, with tiny food. Excellent.
Then the introductions, the pitches, the socialising, before settling down to work on projects. I came into SciHackDay with three pre-existing projects to work on. But one brand new one, barely 12 hours old, just for SciHackDay.
With COVID-19 doing the rounds there has been a lot in the media about face mask shortages, of border guards checking people for fever, and of people doxing sick children because of the perception that they deserve to know.
So I wanted to make a face mask, that reads your body temperature, and displays it to the world, while you yourself can't see it, because it's not for your benefit.
It's a straight-forward circuit;
- Flora microcontroller (Pimoroni/Adafruit)
- LilyPad Temperature sensor (Proto-Pic/Kitronik/SparkFun)
- Adafruit 7-segment display (Pimoroni/Adafruit)
- LilyPad small prototype board (Pimoroni/Proto-Pic/Kitronik/SparkFun)
- Coin cell holder (Proto-Pic/SparkFun)
- JST 2-wire jumper (Kitronik/SparkFun)
- Silicone wire (Adafruit)
Firstly, to attach the 7-segment display into the circuit I add some headers to a LilyPad protoboard. So the display can be removed, for washing, for reuse, for replacement with a different display. The process is like here except five pins are broken out. Break the traces, solder in the headers, test the paths with a multimeter.
The temperature sensor is hooked up to 3.3V, GND, and the S pin to #9 in this case.
The 7-segment display, via the protoboard, is hooked up to VBATT, GND, SDA -> SDA, SCL -> SCL.
Prototype the circuit, and write the code (reading temperatures example).
Next lay out your parts in a workable arrangement. Figure out how you're going to attach the things together (thread, and hot-glue, mostly). The electronics will be attached to these black fabric strips, because face masks are either disposal or need regular washing, and the electronics will need to be removed.
Assemble everything together. I'm using paper clips to attach the circuit, for quick removal. Throw in a battery, and test. I found that the temperature sensor was too far away from the breath to read accurately, so I moved it to the inside of the strips, which was slightly better, but as it's hanging loose, and isn't a medical thermometer, it isn't as accurate as I'd like. Some experimenting to find bounds is required.
Tiny food
Photo by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chebe
Then the introductions, the pitches, the socialising, before settling down to work on projects. I came into SciHackDay with three pre-existing projects to work on. But one brand new one, barely 12 hours old, just for SciHackDay.
With COVID-19 doing the rounds there has been a lot in the media about face mask shortages, of border guards checking people for fever, and of people doxing sick children because of the perception that they deserve to know.
So I wanted to make a face mask, that reads your body temperature, and displays it to the world, while you yourself can't see it, because it's not for your benefit.
It's a straight-forward circuit;
- Flora microcontroller (Pimoroni/Adafruit)
- LilyPad Temperature sensor (Proto-Pic/Kitronik/SparkFun)
- Adafruit 7-segment display (Pimoroni/Adafruit)
- LilyPad small prototype board (Pimoroni/Proto-Pic/Kitronik/SparkFun)
- Coin cell holder (Proto-Pic/SparkFun)
- JST 2-wire jumper (Kitronik/SparkFun)
- Silicone wire (Adafruit)
Temperature sensing and display circuit
Made with Fritzing
Firstly, to attach the 7-segment display into the circuit I add some headers to a LilyPad protoboard. So the display can be removed, for washing, for reuse, for replacement with a different display. The process is like here except five pins are broken out. Break the traces, solder in the headers, test the paths with a multimeter.
Protoboard with headers and 7-segment display attached
Photo by chebe
The temperature sensor is hooked up to 3.3V, GND, and the S pin to #9 in this case.
The 7-segment display, via the protoboard, is hooked up to VBATT, GND, SDA -> SDA, SCL -> SCL.
Prototype the circuit, and write the code (reading temperatures example).
Prototype circuit
Photo by chebe
Next lay out your parts in a workable arrangement. Figure out how you're going to attach the things together (thread, and hot-glue, mostly). The electronics will be attached to these black fabric strips, because face masks are either disposal or need regular washing, and the electronics will need to be removed.
Approximate physical layout
Photo by chebe
Assemble everything together. I'm using paper clips to attach the circuit, for quick removal. Throw in a battery, and test. I found that the temperature sensor was too far away from the breath to read accurately, so I moved it to the inside of the strips, which was slightly better, but as it's hanging loose, and isn't a medical thermometer, it isn't as accurate as I'd like. Some experimenting to find bounds is required.
Assembled mask
Photo by chebe
Wear with cynicism.
Photo by chebe