What is it?

The Bright Board is an accessory board to the micro:bit microcontroller (sold separately) that is designed to fit easily and perfectly into any Bright Bag style. It contains 12 RGB SK9822 LEDs that can each be individually programmed to display millions of different colors.

Why did you make it?

The Bright Board is designed especially to fit perfectly into any of the various Bright Bag backpacks and handbags. It is part of a modular wearable system that light up your style in colors and patterns you code yourself. Wearables let you take your project with you, and show it off wherever you go.

What makes it special?

Because the Bright Board is powered by micro:bit (must be purchased separately), you can code it in many different development environments, including MS MakeCode code blocks (which also works on your smartphone), Python, Arduino and many others. A power pack that holds 3 AA batteries comes with the Bright Board (batteries not included) making it easily portable.

The micro:bit slots easily in and out of the built-in connector on the Bright Board. Any time you want, just pop out the micro:bit for use in other fun coding projects. When you’re done, pop it back into the Bright Board, code or download a new program to control the Bright Board LEDs, and you can take it with you in a Bright Bag designed to display the colorful patterns you’ve created.

There is a special Bright Board extension for the Microsoft MakeCode Editor, which allows you to easily create custom patterns and animations. Instructions to add the Bright Board extension can be found here. This site contains tutorials and project ideas for the Bright Board in the Learn section.

Features of the Bright Board Include:

• An 80 pin edge connector allows the micro:bit to be easily connected to and removed from the Bright Board
• Special fasteners on the board hold it perfectly in place in any of the Bright Bag styles, allowing the LEDs to shine through decorative apertures in the front of the bag. You can use a single Bright Board with multiple Bright Bags.
• Designed specifically to work with the micro:bit. A special set of code blocks make it easy to code in the Microsoft MakeCode Editor
• If you are into hardware hacking, two different 4-pin JST connectors on the back of the Bright Board each provide access to 3.3V, GND and two mciro:bit I/O pins, including the I2C bus. Add your own peripheral devices (e.g. a microphone for sound-reactive Bright Board colors) to expand the functionality of your Bright Wearables system.