In an increasingly dynamic and fast-paced world the Serenity Sweater helps you take the time to be still.

1. Speculative You
Serenity Sweater
Laura Lebel-Pantazopoulos
Wearable Electronics Studio
GDES-3041-001
Lindy Wilkins
Aim: Create a wearable for a provocative imagined future
that relates to a meaningful interaction.

2. Concept
Serenity Sweater
for a World of
Ceaseless Motion

3. Serenity Sweater
for a World of
Ceaseless Motion
Our technology is powerful. What were once long and arduous
journeys, are now a short plane ride. What were once day and night
are now blurred into a globalized connected constant day, with 24-hour
food delivery, 24-hour work days, and 24-hour news. The result is a
world with no time frame, no “up” or “down” time, where you don’t need
to stop if you don’t want to, and many people choose not to stop with
the hopes of getting ahead. Breakdowns from stress are commonplace
and relatable. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of
America, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in
the U.S.
The ADAA lists mindfulness/meditation mobile apps as an
accessible way to deal with our high-stress lives. Although not a
replacement professional therapy in extreme cases, it is recommended
for the daily anxiety many of us face.
The Serenity Sweater is made for a future where it is important
that every person takes the time to be still in an increasingly
dynamic and fast-paced world. The Serenity Sweater monitors your
body while you relax, think, meditate, and focus. As you spend more
time completely still, lights glow brighter and brighter, reflecting the
increasing calm in your mind, and creating a growing light on your face
that can be felt behind closed eyes, similar to sunlight.
It works with knitted variable resistance detectors at several usual
points of movement, all incorporated into a comfy knit wearable
for daily life.

4. Research
Existing Wearables
for Mental Health

5. Muse Headband
“Meditation Made Easy.”
A slick futuristic headband that measures brainwaves
(EEG). Interacts with app/website on a device to give
feedback. Depending on brain activity, it will play a
nature soundscape that get intense with more brain
activity, and calmer when the user is focused.
Positives: Soundscapes help guide people to calm
their minds. Several options (e.g. birds, waves).
Pain Points:
• Need to have a nearby device and ear buds to
receive immediate feedback.
• Hard plastic on head, could be uncomfortable.
• Best used while sitting up, may fall off if lying
down.
• Takes time and careful placement (has to touch 5
points) to get accurate biofeedback.
• Not something to be worn when not in use, looks
unusual.
Sway App
Using the in-phone gyroscope, apps like Sway
measure calm repetitive movements, and alert you
when it seems you are not “in the moment”.
Positives: Portable anywhere, can be used while
in motion, and in noisy, active environments. The
wearable device is your phone, which is already
part of our lives. Soundscapes, and also written
instructions and changing colours and shapes give
feedback.
Pain Points:
• Need to have a nearby device and ear buds to
receive feedback.
• Having phone on your body can be uncomfortable,
and distracting.
• You need to look at your phone to receive
feedback.
• A compromise for being truly still.

6. WellBe Wrist Monitor
Tracks heart-rate to determine level of stress in
relation to time of day, location, and people you
interact with. Shows results through app.
Positives: Made of cork to be lightweight and
comfortable. Measures heart-rate to detect moments
of increased stress. Sends notification when you
need to relax, increases awareness of what triggers
stress in everyday life.
Pain Points:
• Need to have a nearby device to receive
feedback, not meant for immediate feedback, long
term.
• Just overall long-term tracking, and then a
separate meditation portion. Focused on dealing
with stress after it occurs.
• Notifications when the user is stressed telling them
to “take it easy” may not be effective.
• Trouble calibrating, needs to make tight contact
with risk for accurate readings.
Spire Clip
Uses the pressure in your expanding
torso to measure breath. Clips to the
inside of your pants. Works with app.
Positives: Alerts you with phone
notification to sudden changes in breath.
Notifications are customizable. Simple
clip works with a variety of clothing. Also
tracks steps.
Pain Points:
• Need a waist band of some sort,
pressure of a hard item against skin is
integral to it working.
• Need to have a nearby device to
receive feedback.
• Feedback is text, more for awareness
of stress than to guide user to calm.

7. Serenity Sweater
V. 1

8. Material Research & Choices
Conductive Yarn/Knit
Since creating a steel-wool/sheep-wool conductive yarn, I considered the best ways
this material could be applied to a wearable. My conductive knit is not particularly
useful for the purpose of just conducting electricity, due to its high resistance, so using
it as a variable resistor is a way to maximize the material’s potential. The knits
resistance changes based on the smallest change in pressure or movement, which
inspired me towards a concept involving motion vs. stillness.
Why a Sweater?
A sweater seemed like a good
vehicle for a calming experience.
It’s cozy, loose, and unobtrusive on
the body.
It’s also very practical. When
attending a yoga class with a
meditation exercise at the end,
you are often encouraged to take
the moment in between to put
on a sweater. This is because
when you are suddenly still, your
temperature can drop. Combined
with the heightened consciousness
of the feelings in your body during
mindfulness exercises, a mild chill
can become fairly uncomfortable
and distracting.

9. Placement of Hard Components
In Version 1 of my Serenity Sweater,
a large concern was the placement of
the large components, like the Arduino
board, and the 9 volt battery that was
necessary to power it.
Based on a chart of unobtrusive areas
for wearables, I decided to put the
board on the chest, and the battery
on the waist. It felt okay to do this, but
overall the Arduino Leonardo I used still
felt too large and delicate.
The battery was not too uncomfortable,
but was a visible bulge in the sweater
and hung down in an awkward way,
swinging against my body. This loose
portion of the sweater that it was
on was not as suitable for a heavy
component as the tighter collar area.
Light Quality &
Placement
Aim: I want to acheive a
light that can be felt on the
face/eyes, so my original
collar placement was not
very effective. Something
directly on the eyes, or
not hidden under neck, or
directional light could help.
Diffusion: A thicker knit,
more layers, or more space
between to diffuse the light
may improve this.
Colour: Simple white LED
is bright in the eyes, and
feels nice but not natural.
Ideally, light would feel like
sunlight when waking up
in the morning. How can
I make the colours more
warm like the sun?

10. Code
Writing the code with serial feedback from my Arduino Leonardo allowed me to
see how much movement of the conductive knit changed resistance. Based on this
experimentation, I decided that the light should dim if the resistance changes by more
than 5 ohms from one point in time to the next, and get brighter if it stays within the +-5
range.
I used a resistance calculating code from online, and then combined it with a “if/else”
statement. The brightness is changed through an analogue pin, and ranges from 0 to
250.

11. Experience &
Feedback
Where the sensors are?
• Elbows
• Knees (need full outfit, not
convenient)
• Back/neck
• Fingers
Where a battery should be?
• Lower part of shirt
• Back
• Want to lie down
Where should light show?
• In chest like heart
• Crown? Annoying/not comfy
• Diffusion in knit, not hurting eyes
• Like sun?
• Different lights for different body
parts
• Bracelets
• Glasses
• Hood
• Hand/mitt/hat combo
• Cowl Neck

12. Serenity Sweater
V. 2

13. Main Notes from V. 1
• Arduino Leonardo is too clunky
• Yellow LEDs feel more warm, like the sun, but white
sewable LEDs are brighter. Placement on the collar
does not cast light on face/eyes.
• 9 volt battery feels and looks strange hanging off waist
• Having only elbow sensors is not enough feedback to
really encourage stillness.
Switch to Gemma
I switched my code from Arduino Leonardo to Adafruit
Gemma to reduce it’s size, and make it easier to sew. I
ran into several problems during this process:
• Gemma does not have serial feedback to see if code
is working.
• Had to buy a USB hub for in between Gemma and my
Macbook, because Gemma does not communicate
with USB V3 ports.
• Did not show Gemma in the “port” menu at any point,
just have to press the reset button and send code at
the same time.
Despite these problems, Gemma is still tiny in
comparison to Arduino, and easily sew-able, and therefor
more suitable for this wearable, although more difficult to
code with.
Changing the code was mostly simple, and involved
changing the “analogRead” to “1” instead of “A1”, and
“ledPin” to “1” instead of “9”. Although both are “1”,
they read separate pins on the Gemma, which was a
little confusing at first. “analogRead(1)” is the same as
“digitalRead(2)” on the Gemma.

14. Light Quality & Placement
To improve the light quality, I mixed in 4 orange/
yellow LEDs with 2 brighter white LEDS, in an
attempt to create a bright and warm light. Using a
cowl neck sweater creates a layer of knit in front of
the lights, but further away, which can diffuse the
light nicely. Still, the white LEDs seem to overpower
the warmer coloured ones, unless in complete
darkness when all together they can create a
pleasant glow.
When experimenting with LEDs, I accidentally blew
out 3 of them by connecting part of the circuit to the
“Vout” pad on the Gemma. I then taped over that
pad with conductive tape to avoid it in the future.
I also used conductive tape to cover the red and
green light from the Gemma.

15. Battery Placement
For V.2, I moved the battery closer to all the
other hard components in the collar area.
After securing the 9V battery with a knitted
cover, I was surprised to find that it’s weight
was comfortable, and barely noticeable. I
was worried about putting it more to one
side, but the imbalance is not obvious to
the wearer, and the fact that it remains
resting on the body (instead of swinging
back and forth, as it did on the waist of the
sweater in V.1) made it less conspicuous.
More Sensors
Instead of just the elbow sensors, I also
added a back sensor based on feedback
that people often twist, stretch, and crack
their back when idle. It is also easy to
incorporate comfortably, unlike finger
sensors. I placed a small back sensor in
the middle of the shoulder blades, so that
it detected movement on both sides of the
back, but did not have too much resistance,
like a stripe across the entire back would.

16. Knitted Elements
After creating a mixture of steel wool
and sheep’s wool, and spinning it into
a yarn, I knitted the several variable
resistor elements.
Elbow Patches (x2)
Stitch (8) on
Add (9)
Add (10)
Add (11)
Add (12)
Remove (11)
Remove (10)
Remove (9)
Remove (8)
Stitch (8) off
Back Patch
Stitch (3) on
Add (4)
Add (5)
Add (6)
Add (7)
Add (8)
Add (9)
Add (10)
Add (11)
Remove (10)
Remove (9)
Stitch (9) off
Battery Holder (non-
conductive yarn)
Stitch (15) on
Knit (17) Rows
Stitch (15) off

17. Circuit Illustration
&
Circuit Diagram
Materials List
Conductive Knit
• Steel wool (#0000)
• Wool roving (available at DeSerres)
• Knitting needles
• Hair dryer/towel
• Drop spindle
Electronic Parts (Creatron)
• 4 3mm LED - orange, LEDGE-000330
• 3mm super bright LED -
White,LEDTU-390015
• Adafruit Gemma, FLORA-001222
• DURACELL 9V BATTERY, BAT-
TA-160449
• 2 pin JST (PH) wire assembly,
CONNE-400022
• Conductive thread (gray), LIL-
YP-010867
Other
• Knit sweater with large cowl neck
• Safety pins
• Yarn
• Needle

18. Serenity Sweater Concept/Teaser video, “Stop”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sjo_XdabI0&feature=youtu.be
Serenity Sweater In Use
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rTF5YsWwl8&feature=youtu.be
Serenity Sweater
Laura Lebel-Pantazopoulos

19. Value of Serenity Sweater
• No mobile devices required, so the user feels no temptation, they can be truly alone
and un-pressured by a connection to the rest of the world.
• Wearable is as comfortable and normal looking as any sweater. No ear buds,
phones, headbands, or hard clips needed. Can be used comfortably lying down.
• Get a calming instant feedback from light, while having eyes closed. No unusual
stimuli (like the sound of a rain-forest, which may not be calming to everyone).
• Very sensitive to movement, a good indicator if the person is fully focused and in
control of various points in their body
Next Steps
• Knit whole sweater as one piece instead of knitted patches.
• Brighter lights, the orange/yellow lights do not come through, and the inner lights are
not always bright enough or angled/diffused in the right way to reach the eyes.
• Make it more body coverage than a sweater, no movement is currently tracked in
lower body, or face. Difficulties with this include making it convenient for everyday
use, and making it look relatively normal (a full knit one-piece is not acceptable
attire. Yet.)
• Add other inputs, like heart rate or EEG, which are harder to measure comfortably
because direct skin contact is needed.
• Different lights to indicate where the person should focus on making their body
still. This would involve a bigger programmable chip, since Gemma does not have
enough pads for this. Incorporating sound/touch feedback could also be possible.
• Stainless steel/no-rust metal used in conductive material, right now it rusts when left
wet, not good for washing.
• A smaller or thinner battery, as the 9 volt battery is the largest and heaviest
component.