Smart controlled daisy-chain RGB LEDs

I’ve only had a couple of hours at this, but – like many “completed” projects – it’s functional enough to call done for now! Here’s a simple controller app that lets the user select any of the LEDs in a string (of WS2812B daisy-chained together) and both set the colour or turn it on/off with a simple toggle switch

Obviously the immediate purpose is to be able to embed these little RGB LEDs throughout some terrain and to be able to control them remotely.

Possible uses include atmospheric lighting (increasing/decreasing the lighting in a dungeon, as players progress towards a goal, for example) door lock indicators (red could indicate locked and once the player has opened the door, the LED can be set to green).

You could even use it with vehicles for laser fire or explosions!

(maybe an update to the firmware is in order, to trigger pre-programmed animations, such as flickering lights, fading sequences and so on).

Anyway, there we go – a string of fully controllable, full-colour RGB LEDs that you can change via a smartphone/tablet.

The intensity of the colours and the pin-sharp focus of the LED lenses doesn’t really come across in the video (my camera is obviously trying to automatically adjust white balance and lighting levels for the best overall image) – in real life, the LEDs look a lot more impressive (and the range of colours is much greater).

All that remains is to actually embed some LEDs into some terrain, perhaps using super-fine magnet wire and tiny little connectors, instead of the hulking great chunks of perfboard I used in the prototype.

But as a proof-of-concept, I reckon we’re pretty close to calling this one done….?