RaspberryLEDs

A collection of Python programs that can be run on a Raspberry pi to control individually addressable LED lights.

Setup

I have a 3B+ Raspberry Pi connected to ws2811 LEDs through the GPIO18 pin. The LEDs are powered with a 5V 10A power supply.

How to Write Programs

Controlling the LEDs relies on the neopixel and board python libraries. Each program must initalize a Neopixel Object, which requires the GPIO pin and the number of pixels as parameters. Additional parameters include the color ORDER (ex: RGB) and auto_write. More information about the neopixel library can be found here. Here is an example of how to initialize the Neopixel Object:

import neopixel
import board

#initialize pixels
pixel_pin = board.D18
num_pixels = 149
ORDER = neopixel.RGB 
pixels = neopixel.NeoPixel(
    pixel_pin, num_pixels, auto_write=False, pixel_order=ORDER
)

Once the neopixel object is created, the color of the LEDs can be changed by assigning new values to 'pixels.' 'pixels' can be treated as a list of tuples, representing RGB. If auto_write = False, pixels.show() must be run to display the new values of 'pixels.' If auto_write = True or is not specified, the LEDs will instantly change. I recommend setting auto_write to False.

Location of Pixels

At the moment, I have the LEDs taped to a board with no specific pattern in their position. However, I hope to plot their 2D position and provide these details in a txt file to be used in programs.