Advanced Wi-Fi LED Controller and Pattern Development Engine
Designed by ElectroMage in United States of America
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A Wi-Fi-enabled, live-codable LED controller with a web-based development environment Advanced Wi-Fi LED Controller and Pattern Development Engine Pixelblaze makes it fast and fun to write new LED pa…
Read More…A Wi-Fi-enabled, live-codable LED controller with a web-based development environment
Pixelblaze makes it fast and fun to write new LED patterns with its web-based live editor and highly optimized expression engine. You can store a hundred patterns and write new ones by entering mathematical expressions or code that update live as you type. Pixelblaze was designed to make it easier to both write LED patterns and get an intuitive feel for how code and math impact those patterns.
In this kit you get the Pixelblaze controller board (pictured), 5mm screw terminals, and 0.1" pin headers. It's sold as a kit, and some easy soldering is involved to attach the optional screw terminal and expansion header.
If you aren’t a coding wizard, don’t worry, many people with limited programming experience have found Pixelblaze’s editor approachable and fun to use. The real-time editor, instant feedback, a variable watcher, and expression-centric pattern generation means you won’t be pulling your hair out trying to find that missing semicolon or curly brace. Even run-time errors that would usually just crash your program are harmless and show up right in the editor.
You’ll also find that Pixelblaze really shines in the hands of someone who is familiar with programming and is comfortable writing mathematical expressions in a JavaScript or C-like syntax. If you are already doing this with a microcontroller, Pixelblaze was made for you.
Here’s a summary of the upgrades in V3:
The latest iteration of Pixelblaze, the Pixelblaze V3, brings more computing power so it can be used in even more creative ways and in projects with a larger scope. The physical differences of the standard Pixelblaze form factor are intentionally minimized so that V3 is compatible with existing V2/V2+ expansions and mounting setups.
Pixelblaze can interface with hardware and sensors using the available GPIO, analog, or touch inputs, like our easy-to-use add-on Sensor Board with microphone, accelerometer, light sensor, and co-processor that performs audio frequency analysis.
Pixelblaze creates a Wi-Fi network for initial configuration. Once you connect to the network from your phone or computer, a captive portal pops up and shows the Wi-Fi Setup page, allowing you to connect the Pixelblaze to a local Wi-Fi network or set it up as its own hotspot for portable installations or in areas without any internet.
Pixelblaze has a built-in editor with inline syntax and runtime error highlighting, a real-time compiler, and a wide range of language features. It supports a subset of JavaScript for control-flow, loops, functions, etc., and simple-yet-powerful expression capabilities for generating patterns. Arrays are supported and can be used for creating sprite or particle effects.
As long as your pattern is valid, it’s live and running on Pixelblaze. Your pattern is recompiled and sent to Pixelblaze on every change so you can see your changes live. This is one of the most powerful pattern writing features, and you really get a feel for how your changes impact the pattern - all while it’s still installed!
Pixelblaze is great for anyone making LED art large or small, costumes and wearables, or decorating cars and houses inside and out! With Pixelblaze V3's improved tools and documentation, it's easy to learn how to write patterns and dissect existing patterns to discover their secrets.
Sharing and finding patterns written by the community is easy, and there are over 100 patterns available that can be loaded as-is, or used for inspiration in your own designs.
And that's not all, pixel maps let you focus on how your pattern looks in 2D and/or 3D space without having to worry about coordinates or scaling for different installations. A pattern that works on one LED setup will work the same on a different LED setup. Write a generative map in JavaScript, or use real-world coordinates in any unit. It supports arbitrary LED configurations without impacting pattern code. Examples include rings, 2D matrices, walled cubes, and volumetric cubes.
Adding UI controls to a pattern are as easy as writing a function. This lets you add sliders and color pickers to a pattern that can be used to adjust the look and feel of a pattern.
Pixelblaze V3 and V3 Pico was designed to be embeddable and integrated into LED art pieces or used in costumes and props. Because it’s 100% programmed over Wi-Fi, the pattern can be written or updated AFTER it has been installed without needing to attach any cables.
Pixelblaze has a single output capable of supporting the various LED types up to 5,000 APA102 LED or 2,500 WS2812 LEDs. An Output Expansion Board can be connected to the output and drive from 8 up to 64 channels. Any wiring configuration is supported, including strips, matrix panels, or other configurations. The pixel mapper can be used to take any physical layout and used to create powerful 2D and 3D animations even for complex wiring scenarios.
LEDs with known support:
Check out all of the creative projects people have made and shared using Pixelblaze!
Both the Standard and Pico form factors of Pixelblaze V3 support the same ESP32 processor and pattern rendering capabilities, and have the same LED driving capabilities:
Pixelblaze's rendering engine was built for speed, and in addition to a faster processor, Pixelblaze V3 brings some engine enhancements as well. Your patterns are compiled into high level rendering instructions that are then executed on one the ESP32 MCU.
Using included patterns as a benchmark, Pixelblaze V3 generates 48,000 pixels per second on average, and can drive up to 5000 pixels. For larger installations, multiple Pixelblaze controllers can be synchronized with Firestorm.
Frame rates vary by pattern complexity and LED data rates. Compared to V2, V3 is 1.6X to 4X faster, with an average speedup of 2.6X!
| Pixel Count | FPS | Possible Applications |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 300-600+ | Extremely fast/smooth animations, special effects, POV (persistence of vision) |
| 1000 | 30-65+ | Beautifuly smooth animations |
| 5000 | 6-13+ | Gradual animations, fading backgrounds, ambiance |
The Sensor Board makes it easy to write and use sound, accelerometer/tilt, or light to create reactive patterns. Frequency data, acceleration, and light data are fed directly into your pattern as variables so you can focus on using instead of formatting the data. No libraries needed.
Simplify wiring and power distribution for several strips, panels, or strings of LEDs with the Output Expansion Board.
For example, you can run 8 individual 8x8 LED Matrix panels without having to chain them together, or run a long length of APA102 strip and a string of WS2811 LEDs from the same system. Or build a volumetric cube out of 64 strings of LEDs stacking 8 Expansion boards from a single data line.
The Output Expansion Board drives 8 to 64 channels of addressable LEDs over a serial port from Pixelblaze, Arduino, or Raspberry Pi with 600 / 800 pixels per channel. It supports these LEDs (and compatibles):
Each channel can have its own color ordering, and can support a mix of RGB and RGBW across channels or LED types, and any mix of length, up to 800 RGB pixels or 600 RGBW pixels per channel for the WS2812 / NeoPixel types, and 600 LEDs for the APA102 / DotStar types.
The expander protocol runs at 2Mbps and uses checksums to prevent corrupted data from being displayed. The allows up to 66k pixels/sec to be drawn, about twice the speed of typical WS2812.
Power and GND connections are also available per channel, and works great for lower powered applications (up to 3 A), and pairs perfectly with the 8x8 LED Matrix's wired connectors!
Most of the documentation you'll need is built right into Pixelblaze along with the tools! The pattern language and API documentation is just below the editor, ready to access at any time. You can also see the editor docs here. And for the mapper, here.
Getting started is easy as well, and while we strive to make it intuitive enough to get by without a manual, a setup guide is avaiable.
Examples included! Pixelblaze ships with ~45 patterns, which have been updated and documented with beginners in mind, including tutorial patterns. Plus the community is always adding more on the pattern sharing site.
Stumped about something, have a question, or just want to talk about LEDs? Check out the Pixelblaze forum, already active with many other Pixelblaze users!
Pixelblaze V2 on Tindie has outstanding reviews, many people drop by just to show appreciation for our support.
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