FLORA - Wearable electronic platform: Arduino-compatible - v3

Rating:
90% of 100
SKU: ADA659 Brand: Adafruit
FLORA is Adafruit's fully-featured wearable electronics platform. It's a round, sewable, Arduino-compatible microcontroller designed to empower amazing wearables...
$30.40 AUD, inc GST
$27.64 AUD, exc GST

In stock, ships same business day if ordered before 2PM
Delivered by Tue, 24th of Dec

Quantity Discounts:

  • 10-25 $26.81 (exc GST)
  • 25+ $26.25 (exc GST)
- +

2 from local stock, 1 supplier stock; your order will dispatch between Dec 1 to Dec 10. And yes, stock levels and lead times are accurate!

Favourite product

Shipping:

  • $7+ Standard (5+ days*, tracked)
  • $11+ Express (2+ days*, tracked)
  • FREE Pickup (Newcastle only - must order online*)

Shipping costs may increase for heavy products or large orders.

Exact shipping can be calculated on the view cart page.

*Conditions apply, see shipping tab below.

FLORA is Adafruit's fully-featured wearable electronics platform. It's a round, sewable, Arduino-compatible microcontroller designed to empower amazing wearables projects.FLORA comes with Adafruit's support, tutorials and projects. Check out dozens of FLORA tutorials on the Adafruit Learning System, with more added all the time!

The FLORA is small (1.75" diameter, weighing 4.4 grams). The FLORA family also has the best stainless steel threads, sensors, GPS modules and chainable LED NeoPixels, perfect accessories for the FLORA main board. 

The FLORA has built-in USB support. Built in USB means you plug it in to program it, it just shows up - all you need is a Micro-B USB cable, no additional purchases are needed! Adafruit have a modified version of the Arduino IDE so Mac & Windows users can get started fast - or with the new 1.6.4 Arduino IDE, it takes only a few seconds to add Flora-support. The FLORA has USB HID support, so it can act like a mouse or keyboard to attach directly to computers.

FLORA has a small but easy to use onboard reset button to reboot the system. The power supply is designed to be flexible and easy to use. There is an onboard polarized 2 JST battery connector with protection schottky diode for use with external battery packs from 3.5v to 16v DC in. Can be used with LiIon/LiPoly, LiFe, alkaline or rechargeable NiMh/NiCad batteries of any size. The FLORA does not have a LiPo charger included by design, this allows safe use with multiple battery types and reduces risk of fire as it is not recommended to charge these batteries on fabric. We suggest one of Adafruit's micro-lipo chargers if you want to use LiPo batteries with FLORA.

FLORA has onboard power switch connected to 2A power FET for safe and efficient battery on/off control, so you can power quite a bit without burning out your switch. The FLORA has an onboard 3.3v 250mA regulator with a protection diode and USB fuse so that the microcontroller voltage is consistent and can power common 3.3v modules and sensors.

Adafruit spent a lot of time on the power supply because the FLORA power system is specifically designed to allow easy control and power of a large quantity of addressable NeoPixels. Flora can easily drive 50 pixels directly from the onboard power supply, or up to 500 with the pixels externally powered by a separate 5V supply.

  • FLORA is fabric friendly-- all the components on board are flush to the PCB and won't snag delicate garments (it does not use FTDI headers).
  • FLORA is extremely beginner-friendly - it is difficult to destroy the FLORA by connecting a battery backwards due to polarized connector and protection diodes. The on-board regulator means that even connecting a 9V battery will not result in damage or tears.
  • The FLORA has 4 indicator LEDs: power good, digital signal LED for bootloader feedback, data rx/tx. Also onboard is an ICSP connector for easy reprograming for advanced users. Flora v2 and v3 even have an RGB NeoPixel for even more colorful lighting.
  • There are 14 sewing tap pads for attachment and electrical connections. Data buses are interleaved with power and ground pads for easy module and sensor attachments without worrying about overlapping traces which are not possible with conductive thread.
  • As of July 7 2016 we are now selling Flora v3 with alligator-clip friendly pads.
  • The FLORA works great with the Arduino IDE and is super easy to install support if you have IDE 1.6.4 or later

The FLORA is not the first wearable Arduino / Arduino-compatible. Leah Buechley’s Lilypad was developed in 2007 and while they are both round, FLORA is a completely new platform that works seamlessly with the FLORA accessories.

The FLORA is made in NYC at Adafruit, it was designed by Limor Fried (Ladyada), Adafruit's founder and engineer. Adafruit has a proven track record of providing 100 high-quality libraries for Arduino/Arduino IDE, hundreds of tutorials, open-source code and contributions to the Arduino project. Ladyada was a member of the MIT wearables group and likes to sew.

You may get an off-white or black JST connector.

Technical Details

  • Dimensions: 45mm round x 7mm thick/ 1.8" round x 0.3" thick
  • Weight: 4.7g

Datasheets, EagleCAD PCB files, Fritzing object and more in the tutorial!

Revision History:

  • As of May 12th, 2015, we are now selling the Flora v2! The Flora v2 now comes with a micro-USB port instead of a mini-USB port and a programmable NeoPixel installed (it's connected to Digital 8, ready for your blinky commands)
  • As of July 7 2016, we are now selling Flora v3 with a lovely new silkscreen, and alligator-clip friendly pads. Otherwise it's the exact same shape and circuit.
  • As of Oct 1st, 2016, we are now selling the Flora with large alligator-clip friendly pads. They can still be sewn into clothing.

This product is listed in:

Wearables>Flora

Product Comments

Exact shipping can be calculated on the view cart page (no login required).

Products that weigh more than 0.5 KG may cost more than what's shown (for example, test equipment, machines, >500mL liquids, etc).

We deliver Australia-wide with these options (depends on the final destination - you can get a quote on the view cart page):

  • $3+ for Stamped Mail (typically 10+ business days, not tracked, only available on selected small items)
  • $7+ for Standard Post (typically 6+ business days, tracked)
  • $11+ for Express Post (typically 2+ business days, tracked)
  • Pickup - Free! Only available to customers who live in the Newcastle region (must order online and only pickup after we email to notify you the order is ready). Orders placed after 2PM may not be ready until the following business day.

Non-metro addresses in WA, NT, SA & TAS can take 2+ days in addition to the above information.

Some batteries (such as LiPo) can't be shipped by Air. During checkout, Express Post and International Methods will not be an option if you have that type of battery in your shopping cart.

International Orders - the following rates are for New Zealand and will vary for other countries:

  • $12+ for Pack and Track (3+ days, tracked)
  • $16+ for Express International (2-5 days, tracked)

If you order lots of gear, the postage amount will increase based on the weight of your order.

Our physical address (here's a PDF which includes other key business details):

Unit 18, 132 Garden Grove Parade
Adamstown
NSW, 2289
Australia

Take a look at our customer service page if you have other questions such as "do we do purchase orders" (yes!) or "are prices GST inclusive" (yes they are!). We're here to help - get in touch with us to talk shop.

Have a product question? We're here to help!

Write Your Own Review

Videos

View All

Guides

E-Textiles / Wearables Compared: LilyPad vs GEMMA vs Microbit

Every good E-Textiles or Wearables project needs to start somewhere, and the natural starting point ...
Every good E-Textiles or Wearables project needs to start somewhere, and the natural starting point ...

The Maker Revolution

The Maker Revolution celebrates the creation of new devices and the modification of existing ones - ...
The Maker Revolution celebrates the creation of new devices and the modification of existing ones - ...

Projects

Pi Zero Motion Sensing Camera

The Pi Zero Motion Sensing Camera is a portable security camera using a Pi Zero 2W, Pi Zero camera,...
The Pi Zero Motion Sensing Camera is a portable security camera using a Pi Zero 2W, Pi Zero camera,...

555 Timer Step Sequencer Synthesiser

If you, like me, have been inhaling so much flux that the bronchioles of your lungs have mutated to...
If you, like me, have been inhaling so much flux that the bronchioles of your lungs have mutated to...

Wireless QI Phone Charger Powered by Raspberry Pi

I have a new phone and want the battery health to last as long as possible. Charging it to 100% ove...
I have a new phone and want the battery health to last as long as possible. Charging it to 100% ove...
Feedback

Please continue if you would like to leave feedback for any of these topics:

  • Website features/issues
  • Content errors/improvements
  • Missing products/categories
  • Product assignments to categories
  • Search results relevance

For all other inquiries (orders status, stock levels, etc), please contact our support team for quick assistance.

Note: click continue and a draft email will be opened to edit. If you don't have an email client on your device, then send a message via the chat icon on the bottom left of our website.

Makers love reviews as much as you do, please follow this link to review the products you have purchased.