This meant a higher vertical resolution, which means sharper images! My new strip finally arrived, with twice the number of LEDs per meter! Second attempt, network-based, dense strip, non-square pixels The circle has stair-step edges and the symbol is almost invisible. You can see the results of this initial version in the images below:Ī circular logo with a white symbol in the middle. LED strips with double the LED density exist, and I ordered one, but it would take a month before it arrived so I would have to make do with the sparse one for now. Since the strip only had 50 LEDs (30 per meter), a square image would be resized to 50x50 pixels, which was pretty small but hopefully usable. resizing the image, timing it according to the speed you walked, etc.Īll the microcontroller had to do was display each column as it received it.Īnother consideration to pay attention to was image dimensions. This had the added advantage that the computer handled the complicated parts, i.e. Instead, I decided to send the image over the WiFi connection and simply display it on the strip. I would also need to recompile and deploy the firmware every time I changed something, which I didn’t want to do. I ran some back-of-the-envelope calculations with the image dimensions, bits per pixel, etc and realized that the 2 MB storage of the ESP8266 would only be enough to fit one or two images. First attempt, network-based, sparse strip, square pixels With the box, everything fits neatly inside, all the wires are held by the edges of the box so the stress concentrates on the plastic case and wire shielding, and there is no tension on the solder joints. I did this because otherwise the microcontroller would dangle from the wires and they’d frequently get cut. The other hardware-related aspect of this is a small box I designed and 3D printed to house the microcontrollers. I also added a small switch so I can cut power to the whole assembly when I’m not using it. The LEDs are also connected to the batteries and the output pin of the WeMos, and that’s pretty much it for the schematic. I’m using a WeMos D1 mini as the ESP8266 board, with its 5V pin connected to two 18650 3.7V batteries in series, which usually provides power for around two hours of shooting, depending on LED intensity. The hardware didn’t really change at all from the first iteration. The control box, 3D-printed case and battery pack. I looked at the first two search results, saw that none of them resembled what I had in mind, said “Well, this conclusively proves that nothing like this has ever been done!” and started working on it. The second thing I did was what every self-respecting inventor does when they have a groundbreaking idea: I searched the web to see if this already existed. I had never seen anyone do this before, so the first thing I did was what everyone does when they have a groundbreaking idea: I could set the camera to record a long exposure, then move the strip and trace a pattern in the air. The idea was great, I would use a LED strip to display images in mid-air, like those persistence of vision displays. Maybe I could combine technology and photography to create something new, but what could it be?.I need to do something original with photography.Our conversation went something like this: It all started one night, when I was having drinks with a friend and looking for something new to do with photography. It failed at reinventing photography, but I succeeded in writing a clickbait first sentence, and the process was lots of fun too. I didn’t have a good idea how to do this, I just knew I wanted to make something original, and combining photography with my electronics skills seemed like a good way to do that. A revolutionary new invention that lets you take slightly different photos than beforeĪ few years ago, I set out to reinvent photography.
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