Wifi-Connected Book Model 2: Featuring Particle Photon

Internet Connected Book Model 2

I recently completed my second internet connected book, embedded with a Photon microcontroller.

The conductive fabric on this iteration has a more uniform look, because I made an effort to cut all of the strips the same width.  

Like the first model, I embedded a Particle Photon, LilyPad Simple Power, and an 850 mAh lithium polymer battery.  Prior to binding the book, I tested each of the copper leads with a multimeter.

I used a paper circuit, clipped to the conductive fabric with an alligator clip, to test each connection.

One significant change that I made was using stranded wire instead of copper craft wire.  I found that it was less prone to breakage, as well as being easier to twist and solder.

While I started out using the same code that I composed for my first book, I've tweaked it in a variety of ways, to achieve different effects and play different music.

Nine pages of this book are illustrated/ animated with the help of paper circuits, compared with only six in my previous model.

Light-Up Watercolor Book Instructable

If you'd like to learn how I made this blingy watercolor paper book with the light-up spine, please visit my Instructable.

Experimenting with MDF and Wooden Book Covers

Prototyping with MDF and Wood

This week, I'm working on two more book models- one using MDF and the other cherry.

Since the MDF is only 1/4" thick (and cut completely through with the laser), I glued a piece of binder's board to the back cover.

To make the MDF easier to glue, I sanded it. To minimize the odor and prevent discoloration of the cover paper, I applied gesso to the singed edges.  Luckily, the odor dissipated.

In general, I found the MDF pretty easy to work with.  I did, however, end up revising my Inkscape design by lowering the cut-out for the Photon and widening the channel for the battery wires.

Reggie Pouliot:  Carpenter Extraordinaire

When I first imagined making an internet-connected book, I imagined it with wooden covers. Unfortunately, I lack carpentry skills.

I first got in touch with Reggie Pouliot, a master carpenter, after buying one of his beautiful hand-made cutting boards at a craft store.

When I told him about my project (and explained how much I disliked the smell of MDF), he told me that he could use one of the MDF pieces I'd cut with the laser cutter as a template for a hand router!  The best thing about this was that by using a router, he could use a thicker piece of wood (3/8") and still make the 1/4" indentations for my electrical components!

The covers turned out beautifully!

Surprisingly, I learned that neither copper tape nor conductive fabric tape adhere to wood very well.  In hindsight, I should have tested this out long before I did!

This prompted me to try using Nori paste to glue paper to the wood before constructing the circuit.

The paste dried very slowly, but it worked like a charm!

Musical Book

Musical Book

For those of you who may be wondering what type of music my internet connected story book plays, when the Particle function is triggered, I've uploaded a short demo video above.

I got a head start by looking at this "Music Time" tutorial that plays "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley.  Since I didn't want to rick roll people, I changed it.

In a future iteration, I'd like to figure out how to get the lights to flicker in sync with the music.

My First Wifi-Connected Book is Complete!

Hello World!  

Electronic, Internet-enabled, Physical Story Book

To learn more about this book, visit my Instructable.

My First Wifi-connected Book 

Hand-bound, wifi-connected journal...prototype one.

Prep the covers & lay the copper leads between the holes in the spine

I twisted copper wire around the pads of the Photon & Lily Simple Power,
but I switched to stranded wire in a later iteration!

Solder the wire to the copper leads

Use a multimeter on continuity mode to identify shorts

Solder conductive fabric tape (adhesive up) to the copper leads

Sew signatures, adhering conductive fabric leads as you go

Insulate the conductive fabric on the spine using clear nail polish

Apply thin Velcro to back of battery; consider insulating back cover

Complete circuits & program Photon functions to tell your story

Add artwork & text

Laser Cut Book Cover Prototypes

I am in the process of designing a wifi-connected book that will have a Particle Photon and a battery embedded into the back cover.

Today I went to St. Albans City School where my friend +Melissa Haberman, a tech savvy art educator, was kind enough to let me cut a book cover prototype on the Full Spectrum laser printer in the school's maker space.

  

While I ultimately hope to create a cover using cherry wood, I chose 1/4" medium density fiber board (MDF) for my first laser-cut prototype, thanks to the recommendation of the amazing +Leah Joly, Design Technology Instructor at Williston Central School.  I'm hoping that this sturdy material will be easy to cover, using traditional bookbinding methods. Because my first attempt at creating a cover, thick enough to embed the Photon and battery, involved cutting through four layers of binder's board with a pen-knife, I am thrilled that the laser cutter worked so well.

Although this remains a work in progress, here is a link to the Inkscape design for my book's back cover: Book Cover SVG File.  I'll be backing the covers with binder's board.  Of note, the Full Spectrum has a 12" X 20" bed.  I used a piece of 1/4" MDF, at 100% power and 50% speed, which took three passes to get through the material.

Progress Toward Wifi-Connected Book

Over the past three months, I've been learning how to program the Particle Photon, with the goal of creating my own wifi-connected book (inspired by Natalie Freed and Jie Qi). So far, I've been documenting my learning on another blog, because most of my work up to this point hasn't been super artistic. Now that I've learned some of the basics of how the Internet of Things works, I'm pleased to report that I'm about to embark upon the next stage of my process-creating an actual book!

While I am still in the process of brainstorming some of the features that I'd like for my book to have, I'm excited that I've figured out a way to use data from a light sensor to trigger different animations on a paper circuit, through the Particle cloud.  If you're interested in learning more about my process so far, feel free to visit my other blog, New Things I've Tried.  My goal is to have a completed book by March 2017.  I will be documenting my progress along the way.