Archive for the ‘Software’ Category:
Maker Faire Bay Area 2012
SPECTRO UPDATE: this has been delayed due to a laser cutter malfunction followed by the hurricane damage in NYC (where Adafruit is headquartered). Company is running again, and laser work will be outsourced to a local business, so expect Spectro soon!
I’ve participated in Maker Faire every year since its inception — first as a helper for the Electric Giraffe crew, then later reporting for the Hack a Day blog. Exhibiting as a maker was long overdue, and I’m finally there on the 2012 roster. You’ll find me in Fiesta Hall…the Big Dark Room…with a collection of projects simply called “Stuff I’ve Done.”
Tags: 2012, adalight, arduino, bamf, faire, led, maker, makerfaire, pov, processing, spectro
Cheap-Ass PC Interface for Digital LED Pixels
I have an unhealthy obsession with LEDs. I also have an unhealthy obsession with frugality…
Total Control Lighting is a system of individually-addressible full-color LED “pixels” that can be shaped into any display imaginable. It’s a new offering from Funhouse Productions, who’ve been marketing their Cool Neon electroluminescent wire to creative types for years now, practically defining the after-dark aesthetic of the Burning Man arts festival.
The appeal of the Total Control Lighting system is that it scales linearly…just chain one strand of LEDs after the next, like Christmas lights. One end plugs into a controller box, which can issue preprogrammed color sequences, or others can load animation data from an SD card. In more sophisticated setups, the controller in turn connects to a computer, which can then command every LED individually and in real time. That’s where this project comes in…
Tags: bitbang, c, cool neon, ftdi, led, leds, library, linux, mac, pixels, rgb, total control lighting, totalcontrol, windows