Adafruit Gemma Hats Off Challenge Competitors

My project is to build an Iron Man helmet That lights up, and has a face piece that moves up so you can see the wearer's face (by manually grabbing the face plate and moving it upward) like it does in the movies.

The Case Cap is an extra-sensory headpiece created in the style of the iconic hat worn by Sherlock Holmes. It features an ultrasonic sonar ping sensor on the back of the hat to detect people or objects behind the wearer, providing an increased situational awareness that rivals even Holmes's abilities! Four RGB LEDs sewn into the brim alert the wearer when anything is detected by the ping sensor and will change in brightness, intensity, color, and pattern based on how close the detected object or person is.

My idea is to make two umbrella hats, one for me and one for my dog, Pierre. I also will make a matching poncho for both me and Pierre with the help of my seamstress. I would like to have a compass attached to the hats or the poncho so that whenever I or Pierre turn a certain way, the lights will come on. I will make clear umbrella hats and matching ponchos, and if I am able to, I will also add El wire to the edges of my ponchos.

This entry in the Hats Off Challenge is a jaunty fascinator that changes color (cool to warm) and intensity (dim to bright) based on the wearer's amount of movement. Four NeoPixels are concealed within elegantly sewn folds of translucent polyethylene plastic, creating a diffusion effect for the light. The plastic folds also hide a base supporting the Gemma, battery pack, and the added Flora Accelerometer used to detect the wearer's movement. Other decorative elements include wisps of thinner plastic used as feather-like accents, a delicate half-veil made of netting, and possibly crystals.

I'd like to make a top hat with a button in the front of the brim (around where you'd hold it when tipping your hat). Upon pressing the button, the top of the hat would flip open, a little person (doll torso) would pop up and tip their hat to anyone in front of me, then disappear back into the main body of the hat until triggered again. I feel like this shouldn't be too hard, just a few servos triggered in order, perhaps a few LEDs inside to add emphasis at night. I just hope that people don't see it as rude that I'm outsourcing the gesture of tipping a hat.

My proposed project is a Mardi Gras ‘hat’. My hat is very versatile, as it could be worn for Mardi Gras and Halloween. The mask is surrounded by folded fabric. I would like to create a kerchief type wrap that ties with a large bow at the back of the head, which will provide support and custom sizing to whomever is wearing it. I may need to incorporate elastic, if more support is required.

Each disk surrounding the face will be made of foam core and covered in a gold (lamé ?), reflective fabric. The gathered overlay will be made of tulle (hopefully to pull light and disperse it from the center).

The center will be a NeoPixel covered with translucent beads to pull the light and reflect it outward. I’m hoping the tulle will pick up the light and spread it even further outward. I’ll have to experiment and make sure the beads don’t reduce the light. My hope is that it will amplify it.

The circles will be sewn to each other as well as the center mask. The electronics will be located behind the bottom center circle for easy access.

I would like to build a furry hood with eyes. The eyes will have various interactive animations, such as: sparkles based on head movement; changing color based on cardinal direction; pupils that look around; blinking eyelids.

The project I have in mind will be a modified gas mask. It will use NeoPixels combined with fibreoptics and laser cut acrylic to make something scary scifi fun. My experience with micro controllers is limited; so this will be a bit of learning. Without the learning what’s the point NeoPixels are also new to me. I have stuck with simple led's and current drivers in the past; not into blinky lights.

The basis of the hat would be a traditional bonnet and to this bonnet the NeoPixels would be part of the flowers. They would be the middle of the flower head. From them petals would be made either from colourful paper/acetate with a frame of some sort (the material of which I haven't decided on yet) or mirrored card, which ever material shows off the light emitting from the NeoPixels the best (a crude diagram of the flower is attached). The Gemma itself would be incorporated into the hat, by making up the centre of the bow as ribbon would encompass the hat.

Essentially, I want to make the mullet of headgear. South African music festivals tend to be in rather remote areas. One of our biggest festivals, Oppikoppi is held in the bush. Campers have no electricity during the 4 day event and there is not really a culture of wearable electronics here quite yet.

I would start with a top hat or bowler hat (we gotta be fancy) and encircle it with NeoPixels.

I’d like to use the GEMMA as my main platform, then use light produced by the NeoPixels to light people up at festivals when I need to take pictures. The NeoPixels are very bright and with a wide aperture lens would provide sufficient and interesting light. I would program different patterns for the NeoPixels so that I could make interesting light - for example if I was standing in front of someone, blue light on the left side of the hat would illuminate blue on the right side of their face while red light on the right side of the hat would illuminate red on the left side of the their face. This could also work as a torch mode for when there is a need to stumble back to the campsite in the dark after a night of partying.