MAKE IT BLUE
Mary Ellen Berglund, Esther W. Foo, Md. Tahmidul Islam Molla, Smitha Muthya Sudheendra, Crystal Compton, Lucy E. Dunne · 2018
This work translates an inspiration derived from the Disney classic `Sleeping Beauty' to realize a smart child's costume with color-changing capabilities. The dress uses addressable multi-color NeoPixel LEDs to change its surface color based on input from two wand controllers, consistent with the animated sequence in which Princess Aurora's fairy godmothers argue over the best color for her gown. The garment's construction emphasizes diffusion of emitted light to achieve a more uniform color distribution, and explores benefits and drawbacks of two manufacturing methods for embedding LED pixels: a manual method based on hand-soldered wire connections consistent with typical electronic craft, and a more scalable surface-mount manufacturing method based on stitched traces and reflow soldering.