Event Information
About this Event
HackadayU is pleased to offer Introduction to LEDs Using Arduino, with instructors Cathy Laughlin & Mirabelle Jones. Fall session starts week of September 7, 2020.
Classes are pre-recorded and will be released Tuesdays at 9am MST / 5pm CEST / 11am EDT starting September 8th. Office Hours are Wednesdays at 9am MST / 5pm CEST / 11am EDT. Link to the calendar for easy timezone conversion.
The complete course is 4 classes long. For those who would like to attend all classes, you only need to sign up for the last event date (September 29th). Students registered for the last event will receive emails for all the Class Videos and Office Hours.
Overview: This course will introduce students to using LEDs using Arduino as a base. Students will learn all about how LEDs work as well as how to program LED patterns using the Arduino IDE. We will begin by programming onboard LEDs using the FastLED library and progress to more complicated patterns and techniques for LED matrixes. Students will also learn how to use sensor input to change LED patterns and begin to think of how to use these techniques in their own interactive projects. By the end of the course, students will be empowered with a toolkit of sketches and techniques to build from to create their own creative LED projects.
Schedule: The course will consist of four sessions total. Each section will contain a pre-recorded video and a live office hour where the instructors will be available for questions.
Prerequisites: Students should have some familiarity with Arduino, and should purchase the hardware for this course by August 20th to allow for shipping.
Hardware: please purchase the hardware for this course by August 20th to allow for shipping.
- Circuit Playground Express
- Small Alligator Clip Test Lead (set of 12)
- 16x16 NeoPixel RGB LED Matrix
- Power Supply for the Matrix - Mean Well RS-50-5 (Any DC power supply will work as long as it provides 5V and at least 6A.)
- A Matching Power Supply Cable
The following are cheaper alternatives to the Matrix:
- Smaller LED matrix
- Alternate Alligator Clips to Match the Small Matrix
- FREE Alternate Online FastLED matrix simulator
Software downloads:
Please download and install these prior to class. Installation instructions are available on the websites for all.
About the instructors:
Cathy Laughlin: As a Senior Exhibitions Creative Engineer, Cathy Laughlin designs & programs generative, large scale interactive LED & DMX lighting installations for Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She specializes in Arduino / Teensy / FastLED installations as well as installations driven by TouchDesigner via sACN. Her professional background also includes writing industrial control software in C, C++, C#, and Python.
Mirabelle Jones: Mirabelle Jones is a queer non-binary creative technologist, writer, and interdisciplinary artist born in Oakland, California, and currently living in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Recently, they served as a Senior Designer / Developer for Meow Wolf‘s interactive technology team with a specialization in interactive storytelling, sensors, responsive lighting and sound, 3D modeling and printed sculpture, technical documentation, and computer vision.
The first person to obtain an M.F.A. in Book Art & Creative Writing from Mills College with a focus in Fiction, they also possess a B.A. in Language Arts from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Their works have been acquired by the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, the Center on Contemporary Art, UC Berkeley, the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Syracuse University, as well as many other institutions.
Course Page on Hackaday.io
Additional Questions: superconference@hackaday.io
The Office Hour link will be provided via email.