Week 8 – Unusual Switch

Concept

I’ve been thinking a lot about how we usually interact with electronics. It’s almost always with our hands; pressing buttons, turning knobs, typing. So I’m glad we got to try something different. My idea for this project is to have a foot-activated Arduino switch made with nothing more than aluminum foil, tape, socks, and (curiosity).

The idea is simple. When your feet touch, they complete a circuit, and when they move apart, the circuit opens again. Your body becomes the bridge that carries a tiny signal. I wrapped strips of foil around my feet (over socks), taped them so they wouldn’t slip, and connected one to pin 2 on the Arduino and the other to ground. When the two foils touch, the Arduino reads a HIGH signal, meaning the circuit is complete.

Demonstration

IMG_5452

Code

int footSwitchPin = 2;   
int ledPin = 13;         

void setup() {
  pinMode(footSwitchPin, INPUT);
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
  int footState = digitalRead(footSwitchPin);  //check if feet are touching

  if (footState == HIGH) {
    digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);   //feet together = LED ON
  } else {
    digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);    //feet apart = LED OFF
  }
}

Challenges and Improvements 

The biggest challenge was stability. The foil sometimes slipped or wrinkled, breaking contact even when my feet were touching. The tape would loosen after a few tries, so I had to adjust it constantly.  On the creative side, it would be fun to connect it to a sound or visual program on a computer. For example, every time your feet meet, a sound plays or a color changes on screen. That could turn this tiny experiment into a music or art performance piece.