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Warning lights

“In my office, they call me the printer whisperer. And now I’m summoned to every paper jam and toner crisis, no matter how busy I am,” says Inda Mand. “I tried putting a sign on my desk, but they corner me walking to meetings instead. How can I give them the cold shoulder?”

If there’s a monkey on your back, that’s where the solution needs to be. Your style says a lot about you, so I propose some high-tech office wear that really makes a statement. The statement being “I’m busy, go away”.

I started with some electroluminescent wire. EL wire glows when you apply electricity. I twisted it into shape and stitched it on the inside of a white jacket, so it would be invisible when not illuminated. My message simply says “BUSY”. Of course, you can be as creative as you want with yours. But perhaps consult your office handbook first.

To control it, I picked an Adafruit Flora microcontroller, made for wearable projects. Trouble is, the EL wire requires alternating current and the Flora needs direct current. A clever component called a relay allows two separate circuits to connect without touching. A signal from one turns on (and off) a magnet that pulls a switch closed on the other.

Batteries removed, the EL wire and the Flora board are washable, so you can get your message across daily without raising a stink. And EL wire doesn’t generate heat, so you can keep your cool in meetings.

I found my message was hidden by the back of a chair when I sat down. So I added blinking warning lights on the jacket’s shoulders. Why should construction crews get all the fun lighting options?

The connections are sewn through the jacket with conductive thread to the pocket that hides the Flora. I made a button in one sleeve with two pieces of foam, each crossed with the thread. When I press the foam against my forehead, it completes the circuit and tells the Flora that I’m deep in thought. Bingo.

Wearing it into the office, I found the triggering pretty natural. But it hasn’t quite had the desired effect. I get a lot of emails and questions about my jacket, making me busier than ever.

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