CETECH Posted September 26 Report Share Posted September 26 Hello tech adventurers! š§āš§š©āš» If you're here, you're probably itching to light up the world, or at least your room, with some rainbow colors! And how? By combining a motion sensor (IMU), a tiny powerhouse microcontroller, and some shiny NeoPixels. š Buckle upāit's going to be fun and flashy (literally)! Ā What You'll Need š ļø Let's kick off by grabbing all the cool gear for this project. Make sure your toolbox is stocked with: 1. Seeed Studio Xiao nRF52840 Sense ā” This tiny microcontroller is a superstar! Itās Bluetooth-capable, runs on a Cortex-M4 processor, and isĀ small enough to get lost in your pocket! Not that you'd want that... š Why this one?Ā It's packed with an onboard microphone, IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), and Bluetooth LE, which means weāre going wireless, baby! š¤šāāļø 2. NeoPixel LED Panel š” These are individually addressable RGB LEDs that can light up in any color your heart desires. Weāll be using these bad boys to visualize our IMU's data. Theyāre essentially the party piece of this project! š Ā 3. IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) š Already built into the Xiao nRF52840 Sense! This sensor detects motion, so you can do cool stuff like control your NeoPixels based on tilts and shakes. Think of it like aĀ magic wandĀ for LEDs. 4. Jumper Wires, Soldering Kit, and USB-C Cable š§° You know the drill. We need these to hook up everything without too much of a spaghetti mess on your desk. Get PCBs for Your Projects Manufactured Ā You must check outĀ PCBWAYĀ for ordering PCBs online for cheap! You get 10 good-quality PCBs manufactured and shipped to your doorstep for cheap. You will also get a discount on shipping on your first order. Upload your Gerber files ontoĀ PCBWAYĀ to get them manufactured with good quality and quick turnaround time. PCBWay now could provide a complete product solution, from design to enclosure production. Check out their online Gerber viewer function. With reward points, you can get free stuff from their gift shop. Also, check out this useful blog on PCBWay Plugin for KiCad fromĀ here.Ā Using this plugin, you can directly order PCBs in just one click after completing your design in KiCad. Step 1: Flashing the Xiao nRF52840 Sense š Getting it Talking! Start by setting up your development environment. Youāll want to upload the code to your Xiao, but first, you need toĀ flash the microcontrollerĀ with the right firmware. Install the necessary tools:Ā Head toĀ Seeed StudioĀ and grab their official setup guide for the Xiao nRF52840 Sense. Youāll needĀ Arduino IDEĀ and Xiao's board libraries. Piece of cake, right? š° Pro Tip: When uploading code, if your microcontroller throws a tantrum and doesnāt show up on your PC, double-tap the reset button to enter bootloader mode. Itās like giving it a calming tea break. š« Step 2: Wiring it up š§āš§ Time to bring these components together like a superhero team-up! š¦øāāļø Connect the NeoPixel to the Xiao: Power:Ā Connect theĀ VCCĀ pin of the NeoPixel to theĀ 3.3VĀ pin of the Xiao. Ground:Ā GND to GND (itās like their secret handshake š¤). Data:Ā Hook theĀ DINĀ (data in) pin from the NeoPixel toĀ Pin D6Ā on the Xiao. VoilĆ , youāve wired up your light show! Now, donāt plug it in just yet. Patience, young padawan. š§āāļø Step 3: Code Time! āØļøš¾ Weāre diving into the fun partāthe code! This is where the Xiao's IMU will tell the NeoPixels how to light up depending on the motion. Setting Up Libraries: Make sure you have these libraries installed in your Arduino IDE: Adafruit NeoPixelĀ (to control those flashy lights) š Wire.hĀ (for I2C communication) Seeed nRF52Ā board libraries (to work with Xiao) Adafruit SensorĀ for handling IMU data. #include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h> #include <LSM6DS3.h> #include <Wire.h> #define PIN 0 #define NUMPIXELS 64 Adafruit_NeoPixel pixels(NUMPIXELS, PIN, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800); LSM6DS3 myIMU(I2C_MODE, 0x6A); // I2C device address 0x6A float aX, aY, aZ, gX, gY, gZ; const float accelerationThreshold = 2.5; // threshold of significant in G's const int numSamples = 119; int samplesRead = numSamples; void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); while (!Serial); pixels.begin(); pixels.show(); // Initialize all pixels to 'off' // Call .begin() to configure the IMU if (myIMU.begin() != 0) { Serial.println("Device error"); } else { Serial.println("aX,aY,aZ,gX,gY,gZ"); } } void loop() { // wait for significant motion while (samplesRead == numSamples) { // read the acceleration data aX = myIMU.readFloatAccelX(); aY = myIMU.readFloatAccelY(); aZ = myIMU.readFloatAccelZ(); // sum up the absolutes float aSum = fabs(aX) + fabs(aY) + fabs(aZ); // check if it's above the threshold if (aSum >= accelerationThreshold) { // reset the sample read count samplesRead = 0; break; } } // check if all the required samples have been read since // the last time the significant motion was detected while (samplesRead < numSamples) { // read the acceleration and gyroscope data aX = myIMU.readFloatAccelX(); aY = myIMU.readFloatAccelY(); aZ = myIMU.readFloatAccelZ(); gX = myIMU.readFloatGyroX(); gY = myIMU.readFloatGyroY(); gZ = myIMU.readFloatGyroZ(); samplesRead++; // print the data in CSV format Serial.print(aX, 3); Serial.print(','); Serial.print(aY, 3); Serial.print(','); Serial.print(aZ, 3); Serial.print(','); Serial.print(gX, 3); Serial.print(','); Serial.print(gY, 3); Serial.print(','); Serial.print(gZ, 3); Serial.println(); // Visualize the IMU data on the NeoPixel matrix visualizeIMU(aX, aY, aZ, gX, gY, gZ); if (samplesRead == numSamples) { // add an empty line if it's the last sample Serial.println(); } } } void visualizeIMU(float aX, float aY, float aZ, float gX, float gY, float gZ) { // Map the acceleration and gyroscope data to colors uint8_t red = map(fabs(aX) * 100, 0, 250, 0, 255); uint8_t green = map(fabs(aY) * 100, 0, 250, 0, 255); uint8_t blue = map(fabs(aZ) * 100, 0, 250, 0, 255); // Set all pixels to the mapped color for (int i = 0; i < NUMPIXELS; i++) { pixels.setPixelColor(i, pixels.Color(red, green, blue)); } pixels. Show(); } Ā What's Happening in the Code? š¤ The IMU is your sensor. Weāre reading acceleration data on all three axes: X, Y, and Z. The NeoPixels are the output. We map the motion detected by the IMU into a color value (RGB). Mapping Motion to Color: We sum up the absolute values of the accelerations to determine how hard you shake or tilt the Xiao. More movement = crazier colors! šØ Ā Step 4: Test, Shake, and Dance! šŗ Once your code is uploaded, unplug the USB and plug it back in (just to give your Xiao a little reset!). Now the magic begins. š¤¹āāļø Testing the Tilt: Pick up your Xiao nRF52840 and gently tilt it. Youāll see the NeoPixels lighting up in different colors. Shake it a bit moreāsee the color change? Now youāre in charge of the show! If everything worked out, congrats, youāre now officially aĀ NeoPixel DJ! š§š¶ Want to sync it with music and start a rave? Go ahead! The only limit is your creativity (and the brightness tolerance of your neighbors... š ). Step 5: Going Wireless with Bluetooth! š” Now letās take it one step further. What if you could control this with your phone? Hereās where theĀ BluetoothĀ capability of the Xiao nRF52840 Sense comes into play. UsingĀ Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), you can send motion data directly from your Xiao to an app on your phoneāor even control the colors remotely! The Xiao makes it super easy to set up BLE communication, and you can find libraries in Arduino to help with this. Conclusion: Welcome to the Sparkle Party! šš Ā Now that you've brought your NeoPixels to life with motion-sensing IMU data, it's time to celebrate! This project opens up a world of possibilitiesāfrom creating interactive lighting for your room, and costumes, or even building motion-reactive wearables. The only thing left is to challenge yourselfācan you use this setup to control music lights at a party? Sync with game controllers? Make a dancing robot? The worldās your oyster, and the lights are your magic wand! š§āāļøāØ Happy making, and may your LEDs forever shine bright! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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