Bearables Bear LED Badge

by Pimoroni

A bewildered bear badge with 12 coloured LEDs and 12 light patterns, that's sewable, hackable, wearable, and adorable!

Bearables is a range of woodland-themed wearable LED badges and sensors. Wear the badges on their own, or connect them to one of the sensors with conductive thread to bring them to life. Designed for kids* (suggested age 8+) and grown-up kids alike!

Attach your badge using thread (normal or conductive), a safety pin, a small disc magnet, or some double-sided sticky tape.

*Contains small parts. Not suitable for children 3 years or younger. This is not a toy. Keep battery out of reach of children. If ingested, seek medical help immediately.

Kit contains

  • Bear badge with 12 LEDs (multi-coloured)
  • CR2032 3V coin cell battery
  • Sticker sheet

Features

  • 12 coloured LEDs (blue, green, yellow, orange, red, pink)
  • 12 light patterns
  • Multi-functional button (mode change, sleep, trigger mode)
  • PIC16F1503 microcontroller
  • Two sewable hooks
  • Compatible with Bearables analog sensors
  • Battery life of 3-4 days with a CR2032 coin cell battery

Using your Bearables badge

Press the multi-functional button on your badge briefly to cycle through the light patterns. Each of the LEDs will light to indicate which of the 12 patterns is currently selected. Press and hold the button to put your badge into sleep mode.

The nifty design of the badges and sensors means that it's super-simple to connect them. It doesn't matter which way round they're connected. Just connect one hook on the badge to one hook on the sensor with conductive thread, then do the same with the other two hooks.

Once a sensor is connected, press and hold the multi-functional button to put your badge into trigger mode. Now when you trigger the sensor, the LED lights on your badge will light up.

Notes

  • Bearables badges and sensors are not waterproof or washable
  • Ensure that the two pieces of conductive thread connecting your Bearables badge and sensor do not touch, bearing (pun intended) in mind that they may touch when the fabric is creased or folded. Nothing bad will happen, the sensor just won't work as it should.
  • The hooks on the back can be shorted without any damage to the badge, although it may trigger the LEDs similar to triggering them with a sensor. A painted or coated safety pin will work better than a bare metal one.
  • A dab of clear nail varnish on the conductive thread around the hook can help to give a better, more reliable connection
  • Dimensions: 41x35x5mm (LxWxH)

7 customer reviews

4 years ago
Very good, bought alongside the fox kit as a simple portable led setup for some flashing 3d printed party hats- really good quality and think these are great for getting people (kids and adults alike) to talk about tech/stem. Had plenty of comments when wearing them, asking how they were made!
by S about Bearables Bear LED Badge via REVIEWS.io
5 years ago
I’ve had both the kits (fox & bear) to make bags for my grandchildren and they were straightforward to sew and fun to do. Just thought I’d use this badge on something else. They’re just great and kids love ‘em.
by Anne about Bearables Bear LED Badge via REVIEWS.io
7 years ago
I've been very surprised with my bearables bear badge. I bought it during the launch excitement and immediately thought, I bet that was a mistake. But, nothing like it at all. Out of the box, it looks cute, but not over the top. The look is still not really my thing, but it's a nice change from pirates, robots and ninjas. After removing the packaging strip from the battery it burst into life with some nice hard-wired colourful LED patterns, selected from a button on the side. A long button press enables trigger mode, which puts the badge to sleep until a sensor, connected across some hooks on the back, triggers the currently selected pattern. As I'm a bit of a hacker I easily managed to simulate the additionally available light and tilt sensors. Nice! There's some programming pins on the back and, together with the right i2c wiring (soldering required), and a python library, you can take full control of the badge and do what you like with it. I've been tinkering with an analogue clock in python which worked after just a few minutes. I haven't tried yet, but you could even rewrite the complete firmware if you wanted to, although that'll be a bit of a major brain transplant for the bearable and hard to design - could be fun though! Overall a very surprising and technically capable little board, with nice build quality, that hides all the tech behind a cute design theme. Highly recommended.
by Neil about Bearables Bear LED Badge via REVIEWS.io
7 years ago
Cute bear badge that has lots of leds around the edge. its multi function for different flash modes and also makes use of the sensors (you can buy them on here) tho u dont need these.. it arrived in a zip locked electronics bag and the stickers. this fun and cute item will be fun for kids and young at heart Bearables are not waterproof or washable so dont think in the cold of winter or rain will be good for these so if you was going to use this as a pin on your jacket its probably a no go.. one thing that did surprise me is that its meant to be a wearable you have to provide away of connecting to your clothes, bags ect and for all most ВЈ9.00 with P 7 P im slightly disappointed .. also there is no instructions so if u like me u was thinking about a presents you have to print them out from here or send the person that you gave it to the web link.. The Bearable will fit in to a standard letter box (no worry about staying in for this HEHE) Product size is Envelope it arrived in 22.5 cm buy 14 cm The zip lock bag is 12 cm buy 8 cm The sicker sheet is 8.5 cm buy 6 cm The bear is self 4 cm buy 3 cm (not including the ears) its 4 cm buy 3.5 cm (including the ears) The on off switch is 6 MM buy 3 mm If you press the button on your badge briefly to cycle through the light patterns. Each of the LEDs will light to indicate which of the 12 patterns is currently selected. Press and hold the button to turn off
by zaine about Bearables Bear LED Badge via REVIEWS.io