IDM Blog

@sara-idm

Sara Camnasio's IDM blog

47 posts

Dec 14: Final Prototype

I soldered everything together and made my final prototype. The prototype is a bracelet with an embedded GSR sensor that sends data via bluetooth to my iPhone. I found an awesome material for it. Also, I had to replace the sewing with soldering, because the conductive thread did not work.

Dec 7 - Dec 14 Progress

Here are some progress images:

I was finally able to get the code to work with my new GSR sensor! I sewed everything with conductive thread. Unfortunately, my sensor’s wires broke last minute:

I will need to fix this

Dec 7 Prototype Presentation

My sensor still has not arrived, but I continued to work on the Bluetooth module. I can now get my bluetooth module to communicate back and forth wirelessly with my computer. I still need to write custom code for my sensor when it will arrive.

I decided that my prototype will be a bracelet, below is my current circuit with the material I chose.

Nov 30 Homework

Progress:

I received the bluetooth module and the battery. The bluetooth module works, but I am still trying to work out how to get it to communicate with the Flora and with my computer/iPhone. I will be experimenting with the bluetooth app offered by Adafruit.

Oct 19 Homework

One way of communicating with devices without the aural/visual is by using bluetooth. Bluetooth allows to create a device that does data collection and data transmission. The user then does not need a screen or LEDs to see the data, it is automatically sent to a separate device as text or csv files.

Below, a common Bluetooth module:

Nov 23: Tech specs

Thinking about batteries:

- this: https://www.adafruit.com/product/653

- this: https://www.adafruit.com/product/1578

I am still waiting for my sensor and I am starting to think about the design of my circuit in more detail, as well as its layout on the person’s body. I am thinking it will be a bracelet so I’ll have to use small batteries and make my circuit as compact as possible. LiPoly batteries seem ideal (see above)

Nov 16: EDAexplorer

Since I am still waiting for my sensor, I have been looking into the software for the galvanic skin response data analysis. I chose to work with EDAexplorer because it’s both a Python package as well as a web app with a GUI. I installed the package on my computer and tested that I can import it in Python. It works!

I’ll be looking for sample data and play with the GUI version then once I’m familiar with the parameters, I will switch to the command line version for my project.

Nov 9: Progress

- I purchased this galvanic skin response sensor, I am waiting for it to deliver in order to test it with the Flora

- I have yet to decide whether to apply for the Maker Space mini grant

- I am going to buy this kit when I get my GSR to work with my Flora

Nov 2: Prototype Research

GSR

I read this article which gives a beginner’s introduction to what kind of data a galvanic skin response can give you, and it links to academic studies that explain it in more detail: https://imotions.com/blog/gsr/

The article also led me to this free toolbox for GSR data analysis: http://www.ledalab.de/

Which immediately made me squeal in horror because it’s in Matlab. Instead, I will try to use Python, which is my favorite coding language.

TA-DAH!

https://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/16017/open-source-software-for-analyzing-electrodermal-activity

Biometrics and what they can tell us about the body

Kindly provided to me by https://imotions.com/

Oct 28 Prototype

What is happening inside our body? How do we communicate this?

With this prototype, I would show how a person’s body is reacting to different spaces. The prototype would display the value of the person’s skin conductance, which are something we can’t normally perceive. Skin conductance can tell information about a person’s state of arousal or even emotional state. I would pair the use of this wearable with the GPS and repeat the experiment with different people to map any possible emotional clusters in a route or location. Ideally, I would walk with the person during this experiment. This experiment is inspired by this academic study.

Oct 12 Homework

Based on my research from the past 2 weeks, I thought in more detail about how to re-create this feeling map study using a wearable device. After reading this blogpost about a galvanic skin response apron (and this additional resource), I decided I would use this DYI sensor in combination with a GPS sensor.

Components:

- GPS sensor

-Adafruit Flora

- DYI Galvanic Skin Response (GSP) sensor or https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12969

- Battery

- 200k Ohm Resistor

- Conductive Thread

- Fabric

Prototype:

The wearable would be a bracelet and two rings, both made of fabric. The rings would hide the two sensors (made out of hex nuts or any other metal, conductive surface), the bracelet would hide the battery, the Flora, the GPS sensor, and the resistors.

I would try and place the gps and Flora back to back, perhaps with a plastic, 3D printer piece in between them for isolation.

This blogpost is an alternative way I could build this prototype.

Sep 28 Homework: Microcontroller

Components:

- Cotton-wool Gloves

- GPS sensor

- heart-rate sensor

- EDA sensor

- battery

- Flora microcontroller

I would use the microcontroller to connect the GPS data to the biofeedback data and correlate it. The microcontroller, battery and GPS would be hidden in in the glove near the wrist.

I would then take the data collected by the microcontroller and turn it into visuals.

Oct 5 Homework, Extending Our Senses: Biosensing

Since I have decided I will be doing a project on biosensing, I started doing research on what data needs to be collected in order to measure emotional state. In one paper, a previous, established study is cited and four main parameters are identified: skin-conductivity (SC), electromyography (EMG) of the muscles involved in frowning and corrugating eyebrows, blood-volume pressure (BVP), and respiration (RESP). (source: https://www.cs.ubc.ca/~conati/my-papers/um03affect-camera-conati.pdf)

For skin-conductance I found this sensor: http://www.thoughttechnology.com/sciencedivision/pages/products/skinconduct.html (although I can’t figure out how to purchase it)

For muscle electromyography I found this sensor from the Adafruit store: https://www.adafruit.com/product/2699

For blood-volume pressure: http://argoasecurity.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=971

Respiratory sensor: https://bio-medical.com/respiration-sensor.html

Obviously all of these would be very invasive. So I found another experiment that only used heart-rate and an electrodermal activity sensor (EDA) to measure emotion(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282918150_Emotion_recognition_based_on_heart_rate_and_skin_conductance). I would pair all of these with a GPS sensor to correlate emotional responses to location. https://www.adafruit.com/category/58

heart-rate sensor: https://www.adafruit.com/product/1077

EDA sensor: https://store.plux.info/bitalino-sensors/11-electrodermal-activity-eda-sensor.html

I also registered as a developer for Affectiva: https://www.affectiva.com/product/emotion-sdk/

Biophilic design and feeling maps

I have been doing some research about environmental design and how urban planning affects human emotions and psychological state. I stumbled upon this paper:

So I decided I want to switch gears with my wearables project and try to build a discreet wearable sensor that people can use to map their emotional state in their daily commute. I have to do some more research on what actual sensors could help me record emotional responses. I think it will likely be a bracelet.

Software to 3D Design

Blender

Cyant

TinkerCad

Prototype building

IDM Blog @sara-idm - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag