Implementation

We based the structure of our skirt off an umbrella, which we had actually disassembled to help make our prototype. We did not want the transition between the opened and closed states of the skirt to be too sudden, so we modified the umbrella to open and close more slowly so that there would be states in between these two phases that the user could pause at to keep the skirt at a custom height and width. However, the skirt would be noticeably wider when it was open. We also programmed two buttons to control the mechanism--one dictating the direction that the skirt was moving in, and another to pause the skirt. These buttons would let the user have better control over the skirt and adjust its length and width according to their personal preferences. The mechanism was controlled by two weights that were raised on two pulleys powered by servos and were connected to the edges of the skirt. These two weights would drop to fold the skirt up, and rise to push it outward using a spring mechanism.