bgrolleman/Amirine_Cosplay_Lights
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull Requests Actions Packages Projects Releases Wiki Activity
Files
11eb2584efcdde7af913f2100bbe3799144c1800
Amirine_Cosplay_Lights/PLAN.md
T
bgrolleman 11eb2584ef Initial commit — Amirine Cosplay Lights 
Arduino Uno + WS2812B LED strip controller with a text-based lightshow
system. Shows are defined as .txt files (hex color + fade duration per step),
converted to PROGMEM headers by convert_all.py, and navigated at runtime
via a debounced button (tap/double-tap/hold). BSD 2-Clause license.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-05-21 10:16:56 +02:00

2.5 KiB
Raw Blame History

Project Plan — Amirine Cosplay Lights

This file records the original design brief and decisions so future contributors can understand why things are built the way they are.

Goals

  1. Light show player — load .txt files that define a sequence of colors with transition durations. Steps fade from the previous color to the next over the specified time. Setting duration to 0ms gives an instant switch; high values (e.g. 5000ms) give a slow fade.

  2. Multi-show navigation — all shows are compiled into the firmware. A single button lets you cycle through them:

    • 1 tap — next show
    • 2 taps — previous show
    • Hold — reset to show 0 (slow blue pulse)

  3. Arduino + WS2812B — runs on an Arduino Uno with a WS2812B (NeoPixel) LED strip.

  4. Open source — BSD 2-Clause license. Free for any use, personal or commercial.

  5. Designed for expansion — the LED controller layer (led_controller.h/.cpp) is structured so that new patterns (chase, sparkle, gradient) can be added later without touching show playback logic.

Hardware confirmed

  • Board: Arduino Uno
  • LED strip: WS2812B (NeoPixel), data pin 6, ~60 LEDs, GRB color order
  • Button: momentary push button on pin 2, wired to GND (INPUT_PULLUP)
  • Color format: hex codes (#RRGGBB)
  • Show loading: compiled into firmware via Arduino IDE / arduino-cli

Workflow

Write/edit .txt files in converter/shows/
            ↓
        make upload
  (runs make shows → make build → arduino-cli upload)
            ↓
   Show starts immediately, button navigates

Design principles

  • Small, clearly named functions — each function does one thing.
  • Comments explain the why — not the what.
  • PROGMEM for all show data — Arduino Uno has only 2KB RAM; all Step arrays and the SHOWS[] index live in flash.
  • Single config file — all hardware values are in config.h; porting to a different board or strip type requires edits in one place.
  • generate-don't-maintain — shows.h and show_*.h are generated files; the source of truth is the .txt files in converter/shows/.

Future ideas (not yet implemented)

  • Per-LED patterns (chase, sparkle, gradient segments)
  • Multiple strip support
  • Battery power optimization (auto-dim, sleep)
  • SD card loading (no recompile needed for new shows)
  • WiFi loading via ESP32 (browser-based show upload)
  • Multiple buttons for direct show selection
  • Show name displayed on a small OLED
Reference in New Issue View Git Blame Copy Permalink