Arduino Lilypad

Overview

The Arduino LILYPAD is tiny and thin; this board can be stitched into clothing (using conductive thread) for applications that have become known as wearable computing. Another good conductor for these microcontrollers is conductive ink, which is easy to apply on any material. In comparison to other Arduinos this one require separate USB adaptor to be coded. Once the Arduino is programed it has to be powered by a battery. A really good use of these two microcontrollers would be interactive clothing or a toy, which reacts to pressure or sound.

LILYPAD works exactly the same, as all the Arduino microcontrollers. You need to upload the code in order to control the components. To do this you need a specific NANO USB adaptor that will connect your LILYPAD to Arduino IDE. To wire this microcontroller you can use: wire (do not solder it!), conductive ink, conductive thread, copper tape and crocodile clips. The example below is the Blink project using Arduino LILYPAD.

Health & safety

  • Ensure you are familiar with all H&S rules that apply to the environment you are working in.
  • Identify where first aid can be found in your work space
  • Keep all components dry and free from liquid spillages
  • To avoid static, make sure your work surface is sufficiently earthed