PROJECT 2: LANLAN CHEN

Project Description

Concept

The Arctic Ding Sharp is a solar powered hat that is made up of textile snowflake pieces, solar panels and LED lights, making it both a good looking and practical hat. We can wear it at any venue.

Working Principle

This hat uses a solar panel to absorb the sun’s energy and activates a switch to make the light come on. The shape of the hat consists of a number of fragmented snowflakes, the solar panel is sewn onto the snowflake fragments and a conductive thread is used to connect the light to the solar panel. When you wear this hat outside, it not only keeps your head warm, but also acts as a small illuminator.

Aesthetics and visual design

The main color of the hat is white and it is made from a combination of many hand stitched snowflake pieces that create an elegant look. Not only does the hat have design features, but what is even more fascinating is the LED lights and solar panels that I have sewn onto the surface of the hat. When the six solar panels absorb the sun’s rays, then with the flick of a switch, these lights will come on.

Vantage

First of all, this hat is one-of-a-kind and hand-sewn, which not only keeps you warm and looks good, but the LED light on the top of the head also provides illumination. We don’t need to buy batteries, just need to use this multifunctional hat outside where there is enough sunlight. And this hat is very easy to carry foldable.

Final Photos

Detailed Drawing

Flat Patternmaking

Video

Parts and Material listings

Circuit Diagram or Schematic

Technical Areas of Focus

• The circuit type of the solar hat is direct drive. All that is required is for the user to wear it on their head and choose a sunny outdoor area and the lights will come on.
• For materials I chose small solar panels and for the hat theme I chose plain wool.
• The six solar panels are located right in the center of the hat, on top of the head. This is because placing them on top of the head is a way to expose a large area of the solar panels to the sun and better absorb the sun’s energy.
• The integration of the circuit is miniaturized and compact design. This is because of the limited size of the hat area. The circuitry had to be designed small and compact to fit the size and lightweight requirements of the device. But I also took into account the fact that this is a wearable device and comfort is also important, I chose to arrange the different parts in the right place to ensure that the user is comfortable wearing it.
• In terms of wearing comfort, I chose a lighter material: wool, the lightness of the device reduces the burden on the wearer. As the whole body of the device, it is soft and suitable for the human body. Because the material is soft, it can adapt to various head activities without hindering the user’s daily life. And the cap itself I have designed, the shape of the snowflake itself has a lot of holes, so it is very breathable and stylish.

Process and details

• First I spent about a week sewing many snowflake pieces, which I eventually assembled into a hat.
• To make it easier for the solar panels to be placed on the snowflakes, I adjusted the size of each snowflake piece to be as large as possible for the solar panels.
• Finally I connected the six solar panels in parallel and sewed the six panels to the surface of the hat and strung lights, switches and capacitors with the six solar panels using conductive wires. A circuit is formed.
• All the parts are removable.

Project Context

In a world that is increasingly focused on environmental sustainability, creation is assured to play a pivotal role in shaping a greener future, and we all know that many products nowadays carry the mantra of being environmentally friendly and energy efficient. In the context of the current environment, I think the Solar Wearable Project is an ambitious program that is at the intersection of fashion and renewable energy. It aims to revolutionize the way we think about solar energy. We can’t live without the sun, clothes, and energy, and it would be an interesting innovation if I combined these factors.

Before making Project 2, I thought about how to accomplish this in many ways, such as what kind of wearable clothing should I choose. Incorporating solar technology into wearable was a worthwhile thought, and I needed to consider the practicality of the device, the form factor, and the integration of the circuitry. I went through a lot of information and magazines and finally decided to wear this wearable on my head.

I came across the Juliet cap in one of the magazines and was intrigued by the shape and the historical story of the origins of the Juliet cap in the 16th century Shakespeare’s classic love play, Romeo and Juliet. This play left the world not only a love story to sing about but also this fashion item. This type of veil generally consists of two parts, the front section is similar to a hair cover like lace or decorations wrapped around the head, and the back is more draped or tasseled, for example, Photos 1 and 2. This look has a classy, vintage, stand-alone coolness that has been passed down to this day.

I was inspired by this historical background. I wanted to modify this Juliette hat to fit the modern aesthetic, and with winter just around the corner, I chose to knit a number of snowflake flakes in a warm wool yarn and combine these flakes into a hat, which is not only very creative but also adds practicality. I looked up related works, such as the solar-powered wearable hat pictured in Photos 3, where the designer placed solar cells in the front of the hat so that when the light absorbed the solar energy, the hat could charge a cell phone. When the light absorbs solar energy, the hat can charge a cell phone. Also chose to put solar panels on the surface of the hat, and then use wires to string all the parts together, thus powering the light.

For the technical support aspect I then needed to take into account the specificity of the materials used as well as the circuitry. According to the research related to solar panels mentioned in the book A. Solar Cells: In Research and Applications. Ideally, it would be more convenient to have wearable devices that are powered entirely by energy available from the surrounding environment. Energy harvesting technologies are used to collect energy from the environment and use it to power a device. The most common sources of energy harvesting are solar, thermal, and mechanical energy. However, it is not possible to power a device solely through energy harvesting using currently available technologies. Energy harvesters such as solar cells (which draw power from sunlight) or thermoelectric generators (TEGs) (which draw power from temperature differences) are very inefficient, and the energy they collect is not always available (e.g., solar cells at night.). Although solar energy is not always available, it has become the most commonly used source of energy for energy harvesting applications in wearable devices.

In making the solar hat, I referenced the circuit knowledge provided above as well as the form factor reference. I decided to increase the number of solar panels and power the LED lights with multiple solar panels using a parallel connection to make the lights light up

Reference Works

Citation

Sharma, S.; Jain, K.K.; Sharma, A. Solar Cells: In Research and Applications—A Review. Mater. Sci. Appl. 2015, 6, 1145–1155.

https://www.scirp.org/pdf/MSA_2015122415145298.pdf

Department of Electronic Technology, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, 28911 Madrid, Spain, Solar Energy Harvesting to Improve Capabilities of Wearable Devices, May,13, 2022.

https://doi.org/10.3390/s22103950

Additional Items

Process Photos/Notes

Explanation of Design Choices

The initial idea was just to make a headband installation, but I thought it lacked a certain design in terms of shape. So I went through a lot of magazines and books and I observed that winter is coming soon. So combining the environment and the inspiration I got from the book, I wanted to make a snowflake hat, and I referred to the shape of a bride’s veil. But if it was only supported by the shape, I thought it lacked a lot of technique. So I chose to use LED lights, not only the shape of the hat looks good, but also very practical.

Any Supporting Illustrations or diagrams

Lessons Learned

Sewing is really hard, I spent a lot of time on the shape of the hat as well as I had to place a lot of tiny parts on the head. If I sew very roughly then these tiny parts will fall off. And I can easily short out the wires in the process of stringing them together, all of this work takes a lot of time and patience. But I think it is very interesting and I enjoy it.

Next Steps

In the course of my research, I know how to better connect the circuit. But I didn’t find a suitable light, so I will continue to look for a suitable light to replace the current LED light. And I will add a battery for storing electricity because then I can use the hat at night, if I don’t have this battery for storing electricity, then the hat can only light up during the day when there is enough sunlight.