The LumosStick is an addressable LED display with 280 LEDs forming a 7x40 matrix (or 40x7 matrix if you rotate it to portrait).

The LumosStick comes fully assembled. The controller is the ESP32-S2 running CircuitPython. The LEDs are WS2812C-2020 NeoPixels. There are a pair of tactile switches at one end and there is even a mini tone speaker.

Update: The tone speaker now has a mono amplifier for improved volume !

Why is it called the LumosStick?

Well ... umm ... LEDs light up and a bunch of them are in the shape of a small measure stick.

The original prototype was created on a dare and it was made from the lengths of a 7-segment digit. The original was 150cm long but that wasn't very practical. The LumosStick is only 18cm!

The first demo was cascading bouncy lines segments written in C and uses the FastLED library.

The LumosStick also supports CircuitPython and has an open source library so new projects are quick and easy to create.

What is the LumosStick used for?

The first CircuitPython example is a digital clock with hours, minutes, and seconds. It supports the AdafruitIO internet service for always-accurate time.

There are also examples for scrolling text, a War Games inspired random key display, and a fun vertical presentation of falling line segments which bounce.

If you plan to make a case for the LumosStick, there is an optional black LED acrylic faceplate kit cut from Secret Sign, a special acrylic which looks black but allows the LEDs light to shine through.

But it can do so much more!

The LumosStick used 7 GPIO pins for the rows of 40 LEDs. This means libraries like FastLED can control the LumosStick in parallel mode for blazing fast refreshes and animations.

You can ...

• make a meeting or kitchen timer (even have multiple timers displayed)
• amazing animations (think of the ring as a 4x60 matrix)
• display weather, twitter messages, or almost anything with an API
• and so many more ideas - let your imagination run wild!

Customization

Thanks to the LumosStick's CircuitPython library, customization is easy. The library makes creating clock, timer, scrolling text, and games easy.

It's easy to program the LEDs directly with any NeoPixel modules for CircuitPython. You can even use Arduino or ESP libraries to program the LumosStick in C/C++. (there is a bouncing sticks demo and we are working on a spectrum analyzer demo too)

The latest CircuitPython, libraries, and sample program are pre-installed. There are extra examples included on the GitLab project page.

The library code and all samples are open source under the MIT license so you can even change the library if you want. (You are also encouraged to post your changes for inclusion into the open source for others to enjoy.)

Options

The LumosStick comes fully assembled and the software pre-installed. It includes the ESP32-S2.

There is the option to add to the "Black LED Acrylic Secret Sign Faceplate" to your LumosStick order.