AutoLight Tutorial

One day in the future humans might be able to see in the dark without having to turn on a flashlight or wear night-vision goggles. In the meantime, with the aid and versatility of SkinLink, we have AutoLight: A hands-free wearable eyebrow mount that uses an ambient light sensor to turn on automatically in low-light.

Autolight is made up of a SkinLink MCU module, an ambient light sensing module, and a white neopixel LED module as well as elastic resin printed housings for the skin link module, light sensor, and LED.

Aesthetically inspired by the Borg from Star Trek, it boasts a rather conspicuous cyberpunk aesthetic, in hopes to push humans further toward an augmented future with new abilities.

Tools and Materials

  1. Elastic 50A Formlabs resin tank

  2. SkinLink MCU module

  3. Ambient Light Sensing Module

  4. Neopixel RGB LED Module

Construction Steps

Cover and housing design

  1. Create a design with structures that accommodate the SkinLink MCU module, Ambient Light Sensing Module, and Neopixel RGB LED Module

  2. Open the .stl in PreForm and print it on a Formlabs From 3 printer in clear resin

  3. Soak in isopropanol alcohol bath after print

  4. Color the prints with acrylic paint to match the desired skin tone

Circuit Preparation

  1. Layout SkinLink modules on face, adjust the placement accordingly to avoid bending the flexible connectors 

  2. Program SkinLink in Arduino

Attachment

  1. Attach the MCU module with DUO eyelash glue

  2. Attach the cover for the MCU with DUO eyelash glue

  3. Attach the housing of sensor and LED modules with DUO eyelash glue

  4. Insert sensor and LED module into their corresponding housings

Power

  1. Insert the battery onto the battery connector on MCU module, tuck the battery behind the ear