A tiny wearable screen!
Updated 6/11/2024
I've been prepping for Burning Man 2024 and thought that a high-tech looking, wearable screen
would be cool! I decided to use a 1.28" diameter circular TFT screen powered by a Raspberry Pi zero.
I decided to build this system as small as I reasonably could. I am driving this screen off an extremely
small microcontroller, the RP2040-Zero. I chose this controller over something like an Arduino Nano
because
it runs on 3v and has 2MB flash memory! A Nano barely has enough to store a graphics library.
< This is a comical program I made using a dial graphic. It's kind of a reference to something in
NEU Wireless Club. This graphic doesn't utilize the capabilities of the screen very well.
Heres some cool graphics test patterns on the pin. (This is before I finished the final enclosure)
Heres a super early prototype of the project using the square screen and some really bulky hardware reminiscent of this project. It's a pretty cool faux 3D program.
I designed the enclosure for this in SolidWorks and 3D printed it. I placed the microcontroller right
behind the screen, lining up the pins one to one! I placed a small 3.7v LiPo battery on the pin backing
to power the microcontroller. Its regulated 3.3v output powers the screen.
The pin is held on by a couple strong magnets and a metal strip. I route electricity though the clothing
material by poking a positive and negative pin through the material into a cable assembly on the other
side.
Here's a showoff of how I soldered the screen pins almost directly into the microcontroller haha.
Back of the screen, showing button access and magnetic strip.
Stay tuned for more cool pin patterns! I hope to program a lot more of them before the summer ends!