Hermes Winged Shoe Project
2022-03-15 | By Jorvon Moss
License: See Original Project Wearables
We all know the stories of Greek mythology. We were taught them throughout our lives in school. One of my personal favorites was Hermes, the messenger god. His most iconic symbol was his winged shoes, so I thought to myself “what if I could have winged shoes? How would they work/function?” I wanted to have functional wings, something that said, “Hey look at me!” So, I designed these attachable wings that can fit on any shoe and work by tapping your heels together.
PARTS USED
- Adafruit Itsy Bitsy - 1528-2501-ND
- PowerBoost 1000 Charger - Rechargeable 5V Lipo USB Boost @ 1A - 1000C - 1528-1349-ND
- Servo - 1738-SER0046-ND
- KNIT CONDUCTIVE FABRIC - SILVER -1528-2741-ND
- BATTERY LITHIUM 3.7V 500MAH - 1528-1841-ND
You’re going to need at least 2 of each of these parts, one for each foot.
Circuit
I used the Itsy Bitsy from Adafruit to control my circuit and cut out a piece of an Adafruit Perma-Proto PCB board to help connect the power.
Code
The code is pretty self-explanatory, but I warn that when using the Itsy Bitsy you must activate bootloader mode exactly when the Arduino IDE begins uploading the code.
#include <Servo.h>
Servo myservo;
// constants won't change. They're used here to set pin numbers:
const int buttonPin = 11; // the number of the pushbutton pin
const int ledPin = 13; // the number of the LED pin
// variables will change:
int buttonState = 0; // variable for reading the pushbutton status
bool toggle =0;
void setup() {
myservo.attach(9);
Serial.begin(9600);
// initialize the LED pin as an output:
pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
// initialize the pushbutton pin as an input:
pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT_PULLUP);
}
void loop() {
// read the state of the pushbutton value:
buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin);
// check if the pushbutton is pressed. If it is, the buttonState is HIGH:
if (buttonState == LOW) {
toggle = !toggle;
delay(500);
}
if (toggle)
{
myservo.write(10);
//add the code to make the servo open wing.
digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
}
else
{
myservo.write(60);
// Don't Count, code to close wings
digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
}
}
3D Printing
Of course, you will have to 3D print the parts. I created them in CAD and tried to make them easy to print. You can find all the STL files here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5268545
I stuffed the main circuit into the box, with the servo attaching to the wing.
The battery pack is placed behind the wing. You can easily connect the cord from the circuit box to the power box.
Button/Switch
I used conductive fabric to make the servos activate. It works like any other button switch but uses the fabric to close the circuit. You can find more info about this at the following Instructible link: https://www.instructables.com/Introducing-the-Switch/
Next, you want to add the build to the strap.
You’re going to have to get a small screw to add this little holder for the strap.
Lastly, you want to make sure the wires for the switch are pushed out the back of the circuit box. You can route it towards the fabric soft switch, which I hot glued onto the strap.
Once you’ve done that, the project is about done. I added some LEDs to add some character to the build.
Have questions or comments? Continue the conversation on TechForum, DigiKey's online community and technical resource.
Visit TechForum