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FormaFlow Morphing Dress
For ME292C, we built a robotic dress that changes its hemline in motion using six servos and a layered textile structure.
Background
This project came out of Professor Yao's Design of Morphing Matters and Materials course. We designed a dress that adjusts its hemline while you move, so it lifts during walking or stair climbing to avoid dragging through wet or dirty ground. The goal was functional, but we also cared about making the motion feel natural and flowing.
Technical architecture
Six SG90MR servo motors run the mechanism. Four lift tiled segments and two control octopus inspired flippers that curl outward. An ESP32 wireless remote handles three modes, walk lift, stair auto lift, and manual tuning. IMU based stair detection triggers automatic lifting from accelerometer data.
The garment uses a bilayered construction to hide the mechanism, plus taped thread stoppers to keep folds repeatable. The system reaches about 120 mm of lift height, enough to prevent ground contact, with wireless response under 50 ms.