Animated LED Arrows Point The Way

Site visitors at the Garden D’Lights in Bellevue, Washington experienced a problem. Although touring the getaway lights show, they stored straying off the route. The party organizers tried using some simple LED arrows, but they were just more points of light-weight amid a sea stuffed with them. This is when [Eric Gunnerson] was asked to assistance out. He’s evidently experienced some encounter with LED animations, even cooking up a easy descriptor language for writing animations pushed by an ESP32. To make the intended route clear, he turned to a PVC board with 50 embedded WS2812 pixels –RGB controllable LEDs. The control box was a USB electrical power adapter and an ESP8266, extremely thoroughly waterproofed and linked to the string of pixels. The backer board is painted black, to total the components. Adhere all around immediately after the inevitable crack, to get a appear at the final

The description of the establish method is comprehensive and contains some good strategies, but with out a clever LED animation, it is continue to of questionable utility. The sample picked is great, with the LEDs remaining blue most of the time, and a flame-like gradient chasing through the arrow each and every couple seconds. It’s clearly unique from the lights of the show, and looks to be a real winner. [Eric] has published his code, with the sheepish caveat that he experienced to reinvent the wheel at the time again, and could not reuse any of his prior LED animation operate on this just one. It’s a easy hack, but a terrific develop log, and an productive resolution to a refined challenge. And if addressable LEDs are your point, check out our other hacks!