As part of our ongoing collaboration with K-Way, Justin Lutz set out to integrate intelligent electronics into one of the company’s iconic outdoor jackets. Due to the active lifestyle of the brand, Lutz chose to use the Arduino Nicla Sense ME board to detect gestures while hiking as well as monitor the barometric pressure for potential storms.

The project began by first gathering many samples of either idle motion, walking, or drawing a “C” in the air to set a checkpoint with the Nicla’s onboard accelerometer. Once this data was added to the Edge Impulse Studio, he trained a model to recognize each of the motions and return the corresponding label. Beyond this functionality, the Nicla Sense ME also outputs the detected motion and current pressure reading over Bluetooth to a connected phone.

Interacting with the wearable device is done completely through an Android app that Lutz created with the help of MIT’s App Inventor online tool. While running in the background, the app checks for new Bluetooth data and marks the current coordinates on a map as a checkpoint whenever the user draws a “C” with their finger. Drops in pressure are also displayed by the app as a large warning that bad weather is on its way.

More details on the project can be found in Lutz’s Edge Impulse write-up. You can also learn more about the Arduino x K-Way collaboration here.