Think of a LED with some level of interaction was restricted to the LEDs flickering (blinking LEDs) that turn on and off at regular intervals. With the advent of the microcontroller 6 and 8 feet at low prices, wide range of supply voltage and internal oscillator, the ability to integrate a microcontroller and an LED has become a real possibility. The goal is an object / device independent and interactive, consisting of an LED and the microcontroller.
One of the first prototype was Programmable LED developed by Alex Weber and allows, through a photocell (light sensor visible) program a sequence of on / off LED. This sequence will be recorded and reproduced by the microcontroller. Another
latest prototype is the intelligent LED developed by Tod E. Kurt , unlike those developed by Alex Weber, these Smart LEDs use a RGB LED (3 colors). Using techniques of light control Tod think an LED, as an autonomous unit, capable of detecting environmental stimuli and react by changing color. For this project used an Atmel microcontroller (the same family of microcontrollers using Arduino ). The ATtiny13 is a small 8-pin microcontroller with 4.8-MHz internal oscillator, cheap and easy to program. If you are a programmer Arduino, you can schedule it.
RGB LEDs normally have a very narrow emission angle, making them ideal for lighting in a timely manner, but of little use to illuminate the environment. To achieve a more uniform light is convenient to use a diffuser of light, something so simple with a small cylinder of translucent plastic.
Lindos objects, easy to make and cheap. The links below leave the constructive procedure.
Links:
LED Programmable LED Smart
