This is page is a work-in-progress page of frequently-asked questions about my ongoing butterfly project.
It’s a piece of jewelry that sits on you and moves like a real life-size (more or less) butterfly.
No.
First of all, having jewelry that flies away from you feels like a bad investment. Secondly, if I could make life-size flying butterflies I’d already be rich. From what I’ve seen, the only places doing that are labs building nano-drones, and even those are tethered, not standalone.
I had a dream one night that I was covered in butterflies. I woke up and wondered how to make that a reality. Then I wondered how to ethically make it a reality. Hence this project.
After spending far too long looking at butterflies in both reality and fiction, I’d say it moves like most humans assume butterflies move at a glance. It has two (not four) wings. They go up and down at a regular interval (randomization is certainly possible, but seems to throw off the illusion).
Trial and error. A lot of trial and error. And learning from my friends at hackerspaces.
If it flaps I can probably make it.
Hell yes. Bigger is way easier than the size I’m currently working with.
To the first two, hell no. To IoT, I suppose it could be an option, but I can’t really see a use case.
Right now, it just sits there and flaps. I’ve got some ideas about introducing bundles for couples, where the butterflies flap faster the closer you are together, or butterflies that flap to the beat of whatever music is playing, or LED displays on the wings you can control from your phone. They’re all doable, but not yet a priority.
On the technical side, I’m having a blast learning it all myself. On production, marketing, sales, etc. That’s still a long way off, if ever.
Too many. Far too many.
Usually, yes. But some days, I think there’s no one in the world who hates them as much as I do. They’re fiddly little buggers to get right.
I’m in the process of uploading them.