High Heel Boot Knife

This is my favorite project from my embedded systems work. For the final project in my Smart Devices and Wearable Technology course, I used the opportunity to develop a gadget I had been considering for some time. I designed and prototyped a smart wearable device featuring a 3D-printed, servo-actuated out-the-front (OTF) blade embedded at the heel of a high-heel boot. The blade deploys in response to a user’s kick, detected via accelerometer data. Release and retraction can also be controlled through physical buttons or virtual controls in the Blynk mobile app, with a piezo buzzer providing audible confirmation of system state.

A Photon 2 microcontroller was selected for its cloud connectivity. Real-time accelerometer data were transmitted as JSON to an Initial State IoT dashboard, where it was analyzed to wirelessly determine acceleration thresholds corresponding to a swift kick.

This project was selected for presentation at the Department of Technology and Advanced Computing Fall 2025 Showcase, highlighting its creativity, embedded systems integration, and IoT-enabled control architecture.