Complete Your Cyberpunk Outfit with a Laser-Spiked Jacket

Jackets provide warmth and a modicum of protection against scrapes, but if you think yours is missing something — e.g. lasers — then this write-up explains you just how to add 128 of them! As shown in the video below, augmenting a jacket in such a way allows you to look like something out of a dystopian cyberpunk novel.

It would be possible to simply apply power to all 128 lasers, but this jacket build goes a few steps further, controlling everything with an Arduino Nano board through a pair of 16-channel I2C PWM boards. Each output handles four lasers each, for a total of 128 over the two boards. Lasers can be set to twinkle mode, pulse in reaction to a microphone in a graphic equalizer setup, or be controlled by a joystick/button assembly.

While the circuit layout is somewhat complicated, the real challenge of this project is actually mounting the lasers in a reliable way. Custom hardware for each laser diode were manufactured on a laser cutter, and wires snake between the linking of the jacket and outer shell.

According to its creator “abetusk,” the 4mW lasers used here aren’t really a danger to people’s eyesight, though the risk of shorts and potential heat effects when using a LiPo mean that it’s a very good idea to use a fuse to keep things in check. A video of the jacket in action is seen below, along with the video from 2012 that inspired this build.