Arduino project: Turn signal bike jacket

A lot of people cycle to stay healthy and others do it to save money.  What ever the reason, safety is certainly a concern when on the public roads with a bike, and this is a great way to keep those behind us aware of any direction changes we might be making.

Of course, I think this is just cool...  in a very geek kind of way.  Like when you are walking through the library and need to turn into a book isle, you can signal your intentions...  B)

This project uses a light jacket as the wearable form factor, although it could certainly be sewn into a lighter shirt or even a heavier jacket.  Perhaps even into a helmet sleeve / sock (or hat, if you don't wear a helmet).

This project is brought to you by instructables user leahbuechley on the Turn signal biking jacket instructables page.

Obviously a person needs some sewing skills and electronics skills.  Neither of which should be terribly difficult to learn if you don't have them.

This project requires the following (per the instructable):

-- LilyPad Arduino main board
-- FTDI connector
-- mini USB cable
-- LilyPad power supply
-- 16 LilyPad LEDs (note: these aren't available from SparkFun yet, but will be soon)
-- 2 push button switches
-- a spool of 4-ply conductive thread
-- a digital multimeter with a beeping continuity tester. This is the one I have.
-- a garment or a piece of fabric to work on
-- a needle or two, a fabric marker or piece of chalk, puffy fabric paint, a bottle of fabric glue, and a ruler
(Available at your local fabric shop or Joann Stores.)
-- a pair of scissors
-- double sided tape (optional)
-- a sewing machine (optional)

After you finish your 8 step project, you should end up with something that looks and works something like this:


So have fun making your Turn Signal Bike Jacket and as always, safe riding.