I'm going to make a set of paper lanterns illuminated by progammable LEDs, which can be controlled through a web UI. My interface is inspired by RGB keyboards, which allow the user to setup light/animation profiles for groups of lights.

This is a multi-part project, recommended by intermediate to advanced tinkerers. You should be comfortable with a soldering iron to complete the build.

Here's what I'll cover in my instructions:

  1. Planning
    1. Materials list
    2. Calculate length of NeoPixels strands
  2. Raspberry Pi setup - check out How to Bootstrap a Raspberry Pi.
  3. Cut and solder NeoPixel array.
  4. Install, configure, and run RPi-Neo-Lantern app
    1. Interactively configure groups of Neopixels in each lantern (@todo)
  5. Connect NeoPixel array to a breadboard
  6. Mount Lights & Solder final build to the Raspberry Pi GPIO

On the software side, my interface can power 2 light configurations:

  1. 5 lanterns in a series, with each lantern's LEDs grouped.
  2. A variable-length strand of LEDs (useful for testing/tinkering)

Additional features I'd like to add to the software:

  1. Interval-based light animations
  2. Bio-rhythm lighting, which automatically adjusts the color temperature of the light strand. Inspired by f.lux & Twilight.