This is Leah Buechley. She's a PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of Colorado in Boulder, where she "explores the intersection of computational and physical media, focusing on computational textiles or electronic textiles ... soft, flexible, fabric-based computers." In this photo, she demonstrates the use of a commercially available LilyPad Arduino system to create a turn signal built into a cycling jacket.
Leah also has instructions on building a LED tank top. Found via MAKE.
12 comments:
Just don't wear it to the airport
Thanks Todd. Holy Moley. Those Boston police are unbelievable.
...while i applaud the efforts of those making "artistic statements", if you take a real look this chicks 'artwork' & add the fact that she was walking around w/ a putty like substance in her hand, i mean wtf...
...with the whole 'security issue' being admittedly way overplayed in this country, she was lucky she wasn't seriously hurt by the guys who are paid to buy into it...
...i'll bet if she was really honest about it, she got exactly the reaction she was looking for...it wasn't 'beautiful' art, it was art designed to cause a stir...
...live & die by your art, baby...
...so that i'm not sounding totally negative here, i will say, i really think leah buechely's work is not only very cool but might be utilized to make a big difference regarding cycling safety in the future...
...remains to be seen but she's got my vote...
The turn signal is sitting too high on the jacket. It will not be clearly visible if the rider is bent over handlebars. It will also be obscured by a backpack, which many cyclists wear. It should be much lower, near the waistline.
(Ellipses are not a substitute for proper grammar, nor knowledge of proper grammar. Just like typing in all caps, it just makes the poster look bad. If a person does not care enough about their thoughts to make an effort at proper grammar, can their thoughts matter that much?)
Be careful there, Tim .... BGW is a good friend to Cyclelicious and a great guy to know. Often mocked, but never duplicated. He's well known in his area and he's one of those guys who everybody loves.
Regarding the Boston police, I was thinking back to some of their previous over reactions: the time they they detonated a traffic counter placed by their own public works department, the city's ridiculous arrest of a couple of guys placing "Lite Brites" around town, the time they brought in the bomb squad after a student hung a backpack from a tree with her website name on it, and so on. For security people and folks who follow terrorism news, "Boston" synonymous with "ridiculous overreaction."
He may be a great guy, but I wouldn't know because I never read his posts, just as I never read a post in all caps or all lowercase. Buy yeah, I know you know him from previous posts. Thus, I did not attack him personally, just a comment on comments and grammar.
I have a picture of one of the Lite Brites on my office bookcase.
Re: all lower case, I have just this to say:
e.e. cummings
Re: turn signals, they really need to be on the back of the shorts to be presented effectively to the motorists' eyes.
I frequently see a cyclist with one of those slow moving vehicle triangles mounted on his big butt. It's kind of obnoxious, though I suppose that's the point. I'll have to take a photo of him some day.
In Boulder, CO, riding on upright bikes with racks and panniers is considered an acceptable form of transportation. There are plenty of drop bar bikes, too, of course, and many cyclists own both (or more) types.
...in a cycling jacket, i could see a series of sequentially lighted chevrons strategically placed down the front & back of both arms to be used as turn signals...i'd also like to experiment w/ ideas for this type of thing on packs & messenger bags...
...while i was concerned w/ the safety of the young lady at the airport, you are quite right...the boston cops are by their own actions, to use the vernacular, some wicked pissas...
...good chuckle, cafiend, not that i aspire to such worthy heights, nonetheless thanks to both you & fritz...
...but the truth is, we all have self imposed limits in our lives & if gttim finds his within a particularly structured form of grammar, that is certainly his prerogative...
...i would assume i'm certainly not the most egregious of his personal transgressors considering the nature of the internet but that is actually of little consequence 'pour moi'...
...i'd suggest there are on occasion, times when we all might miss the forest for the trees but if the look of a few scub oaks were to keep me from enjoying the rest of my natural surroundings, personally i'd find myself lacking...but that's me et c'est la vie...
...while it's certainly not the only criteria, we do define ourselves by the depth or lack thereof, of our acceptance of others & their lives...
...nonetheless, i feel like i'm preaching to an erudite choir & as far as gttim is concerned, well he doesn't peruse my comments although he does take the time on occasion to address my admittedly improper grammatical musings...
...considering grammar & spelling are probably the least of my faults, i wonder if i should be as concerned about myself as gttim......hmmmm...
How many people riding at night are on road bikes and hunkered down?
OTOH, is there any disadvantage to lowering them? Maybe.
The height of my helmet-mounted light is a huge part of its visibility.
THere's definitely a market for that (besides me... have I mentioned... that turn signals are something I've... wanted for a long time?)
I have to agree with bikesgonewild about the relative stupidity of behaving completely suspiciously, especially with a police force rather known for their overreaction.
However... gosh... all those ellipsis ;) :) I try to control mine :D
The gal is just really lucky that she didn't get a 9mm Tattoo between her eyes. Come on, just think about it. Circuit board and battery up front and silly putty in her hand. Splat one dead fool. Art my backside to the lite brite fools too. It's really easy to get away with a bomb if you call it art till it goes bang.
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