# Gemma Firewalker Lite Sneakers
## Overview
https://youtu.be/lmuig7dPv-Y
Build your own flashy footwear! This project is a major upgrade to our popular [Firewalker Sneakers](../../../firewalker-led-sneakers) tutorial, but this time using GEMMA and a vibration sensor to trigger animations on the LED strip encircling the soles of your new favorite sneakers.
GEMMA didn't exist yet when we first made the Firewalkers!
Before you begin, you should read up on the following prerequisite guides:
- [Introducing Gemma M0 guide](../../../../adafruit-gemma-m0/) or [Introducing GEMMA guide](http://learn.adafruit.com/introducing-gemma)
- [NeoPixel Uberguide](../../../adafruit-neopixel-uberguide)
- [Battery Powering Your Wearable Electronics](../../../battery-powering-wearable-electronics)
- [Adafruit Guide to Excellent Soldering](../../../adafruit-guide-excellent-soldering)
For this project you will need:
- 2x [Gemma M0](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3501) or [Gemma v2](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1222) Microcontrollers
- 2x [Medium vibration sensor](http://www.adafruit.com/product/2384) (you could try [fast](https://www.adafruit.com/products/1766) and [slow](https://www.adafruit.com/products/1767) varieties as well)
- 2x [500mAh lipoly batteries](http://www.adafruit.com/product/1578) and at least one [charger](http://www.adafruit.com/product/1304)
- 4x [Pack of mini NeoPixels](http://www.adafruit.com/product/1612) (16-20 pixels for one pair of shoes)
- 2m of 60/m NeoPixel strip in [white](http://www.adafruit.com/product/1138) or [black](https://www.adafruit.com/products/1461)
- [26awg](https://www.adafruit.com/products/1970) and [30awg](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2051) silicone coated stranded wire in color(s) of your choice
- Sewing needle and thread
- access to a 3D printer and flexible filament for battery pockets (try [3D hubs](https://www.3dhubs.com/) for local printers)
- [Soldering tools and supplies](../../../adafruit-guide-excellent-soldering)
- Permatex 66B silicone adhesive ([tube](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002UEPVI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01) or [powerbead can](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HBM4BK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1))
- Latex or nitrile gloves
- Scissors
- Rubber bands
Info:
Video for gifs by [Mike Farino](http://mikefarino.com/).
# Gemma Firewalker Lite Sneakers
## Circuit Diagram
Info:
The vibration sensor connects to Gemma's **D0** and the remaining pin to GND.
The Neopixels are being controlled from Gemma's **D1** with and are also connected to Gemma's **Vout** (+) and **GND** (-).
# Gemma Firewalker Lite Sneakers
## Prepare NeoPixel Strips
NeoPixel Strip is made of a flex PCB material that’s meant to curve around surfaces, but it’s not designed to bend laterally. On the original Firewalkers, the bend at the toe was vulnerable to breakage. They would break after a few times of wearing them, so we wanted to provide a way to mitigate that problem— the solution we came up with is to replace the bendiest parts of the strip with a homemade strip constructed of individual pixels and stranded wire, with extra slack for lateral bending. The result is much more labor-intensive than the original, so be warned! It requires delicate soldering of close-together parts and may not be suitable for beginners! You can always glue the strips on as in the original, then upgrade to this new method once the strip breaks…
Wrap your NeoPixel strip around the sole of your shoe to determine the appropriate length, then cut it to size.
Preferably with your shoe on and laced up, bend the shoe at the toe and mark the bendiest parts— we’ll be creating a more flexible section of NeoPixel strip to cover these areas. Hold the NeoPixel strip to the shoe sole again to see where your marks intersect with the strip, and mark down the pixel numbers for the sections to be replaced. For our mens’ size 10.5 sneakers, these were pixels 19-23 and 35-39. Also note how many pixels make up the toe section (35-23=12 pixels around the toe).
Remove the NeoPixels from their sheathing and set the sheathing aside for later. Being sure to start with the input end of your NeoPixel strip, count to the locations of the breaks and cut the strip into three pieces— you’ll have extra strip at the end because the individual pixels will take their place. Solder a piece of 26 gauge to the center data line by tinning the pad and the wire, then reheating the solder to join the two.
Trim and strip the wire and solder it to the input pad of an individual NeoPixel.
Continue soldering data output to data input lines down the chain until you’ve attached as many pixels as you like and have noted earlier (we found 4 or 5 to be a good amount), then chain up to the input of the toe section of the strip. Repeat this process at the end of the toe-section piece of NeoPixel strip.
With all the data lines connected, now it’s time to wire up power and ground. Use 30 gauge wire for this, and make sure there is ample slack in these wires (they should bow out a bit from the strip), as this is what provides the lateral bending ability. If these wires are too short they WILL break when you bend the shoe at the toe! Tweezers really help get this job done.
Now the shoe can bend without fatiguing the flex PCB. Solder longer-than-nessessary wires to the input end of the strip and wire them up with alligator clips to GEMMA and run the strandtest NeoPixel example to ensure that your new custom strip is working. While it’s on, bend it around a bit to see if you have any precarious connections. Inspect the back of your circuit and trim any stray strands or areas that could short out because of a long wire or blob of solder. Attention to detail at this step is critical, or your shoes will break sooner than you’d like!
Cut the sheathing down the back to fit the strip back inside.
# Gemma Firewalker Lite Sneakers
## Glue to Shoes
Permatex 66B silicone adhesive is the only stuff we’ve found that sticks to the sheathing of the NeoPixel strips. This time around we found that the Powerbead can makes application a lot easier on the hands. You should do a test on your shoes to make sure it sticks to them too— wipe the surface of the soles with a alcohol first to remove any dust or residue. Likewise wipe the NeoPixel strip sheathing— clean surfaces adhere much better!
Wear gloves, protect your work surface, and work in a well-ventilated area— this stuff smells like salt & vinegar chips but after a while will make you dizzy from all the brain cells it’s killing if you don’t have proper ventilation.
Start with the inststep (and the input end of your NeoPixel strip), and carefully apply glue one section at a time. Use rubber bands to secure the strip to the shoe.
When you get to the end, fill the end of the sheathing with glue to keep moisture and dirt out.
Use a clean cloth and rubbing alcohol to clean up any excess glue, then let dry overnight.
# Gemma Firewalker Lite Sneakers
## Solder GEMMA & Sensor
To prepare the vibration sensor, we’ll solder wires to the leads and protect the whole thing with heat shrink tubing. If you want to try out different versions of the vibration sensor, use wires with connectors at the ends such as our premium breadboarding wires, or just use more silicone coated stranded wire.
First strip and tin one wire and slide a small piece of heat shrink tubing onto it. Tin the larger, center wire of the vibration sensor and then reheat the wire/sensor joint to melt the solder between the two. Slide the heat shrink tubing over the entirety of the exposed metal and shrink it with a heat gun (or lighter in a pinch).
Repeat with the outer wire, which is much skinnier, than slide a larger piece of heat shrink tubing over the whole sensor, extending down the wire a bit for added stability and moisture resistance.
Solder the sensors wires to D0 and GND on GEMMA (or use matching plugging wires if you’re making swappable sensors). The sensor is not polar, meaning it doesn't matter which wire goes to ground and which to D0.
Position your GEMMA approximately where it will go on your shoe, and trim the NeoPixel strip input wires to length, then solder them up to GEMMA in the same configuration you used to test earlier:
- GEMMA Vout -\> NeoPixel strip 5v
- GEMMA D1 -\> NeoPixel strip data
- GEMMA GND -\> NeoPixel strip ground
Stitch GEMMA to your shoe using a needle and thread, and pliers if necessary to pierce through tough materials.
# Gemma Firewalker Lite Sneakers
## Arduino Code
Info:
Plug in GEMMA to your computer with a USB cable and load up the following sensor-activated animation code written by Phillip Burgess (OG Firewalker creator extraordinaire):
https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Learning_System_Guides/blob/main/Gemma/Gemma_Firewalker_Lite_Sneakers/Gemma_Firewalker_Lite_Sneakers.ino
# Gemma Firewalker Lite Sneakers
## Arduino Code for Gemma M0
Info:
Plug in your Gemma M0 into your computer with a USB cable and load up the following sensor-activated animation code written by Phillip Burgess (OG Firewalker creator extraordinaire):
https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Learning_System_Guides/blob/main/Gemma/Gemma_Firewalker_AnimLite/Gemma_Firewalker_AnimLite.ino
# Gemma Firewalker Lite Sneakers
## CircuitPython Code
Danger:
**GEMMA M0** boards can run **CircuitPython** — a different approach to programming compared to Arduino sketches. In fact, **CircuitPython comes factory pre-loaded on GEMMA M0**. If you’ve overwritten it with an Arduino sketch, or just want to learn the basics of setting up and using CircuitPython, this is explained in the [**Adafruit GEMMA M0 guide**](../../../../adafruit-gemma-m0/circuitpython-setup-1).
Info:
Below is CircuitPython code that works similarly (though not exactly the same) as the Arduino sketch shown on a prior page. To use this, plug the GEMMA M0 into USB…it should show up on your computer as a small **flash drive** …then edit the file “ **main.py** ” with your text editor of choice. Select and copy the code below and paste it into that file, **entirely replacing its contents** (don’t mix it in with lingering bits of old code). When you save the file, the code should **start running almost immediately** (if not, see notes at the bottom of this page).
**If GEMMA M0 doesn’t show up as a drive, follow the GEMMA M0 guide link above to prepare the board for CircuitPython.**
https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Learning_System_Guides/blob/main/Gemma/Gemma_Firewalker_Lite_Sneakers/code.py
This code requires the **neopixel.py** library. A factory-fresh board will have this already installed. If you’ve just reloaded the board with CircuitPython, create the **lib** directory and then [download neopixel.py from GitHub](https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_CircuitPython_NeoPixel).
# Gemma Firewalker Lite Sneakers
## 3D Printed Battery Pocket
Print a sew-on pocket for your lipoly battery! The pocket protects the battery from abuse and also makes it easy to remove the battery for charging. It's not strictly necessary, though, but bare lipoly batteries can be risky, so unless you protect it in some way, we recommend using a hard shell alkaline pack like the [3xAAA holder](https://www.adafruit.com/products/727).
## TPE Flexible Filament
The battery pocket works best when printed in flexible material like Ninjaflex or **Semiflex**. This material requires a direct-drive extruder system and can be challenging to print. We recommend **Semiflex** because it handles overhangs better than Ninjaflex, and has a shell hardness (98A). Follow the print settings below for best results.
The part should be centered on the print bed and ready to print "as-is". We recommend using [CURA](https://ultimaker.com/en/products/cura-software), or [Simplify3D](https://www.simplify3d.com/) to slice the file.
[Download STL & Source files](http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1018762)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cugBD34WTY4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c1vhyLhloQ
# Gemma Firewalker Lite Sneakers
## Wear 'em!
Get out there and get flashin'! These shoes are sure to turn heads wherever you go.
To protect the circuit further, you can coat GEMMA with a conformal coating or paint on some clear nail polish. See our [Rugged-izing Wearables](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kolq3eSu4ug) video for more tips on protecting your cirtcuit from the elements.
If you make a pair, share them with us on our weekly [Google+ show and tell hangout](http://adafru.it/showtell), post them up in the [forums](https://forums.adafruit.com), or [submit a blog tip](https://www.adafruit.com/contact)!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kolq3eSu4ug
## Featured Products
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[Adafruit GEMMA M0 - Miniature wearable electronic platform](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3501)
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[Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 500mAh](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1578)
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