Outputs - osresearch/october-first GitHub Wiki

Overview

LED strips

2012, 2013 and 2014 all used WS2812 flexible LED strips, in both 30 LED/m and 60 LED/m strips. They have the advantage of being very cheap, have a simple one-wire protocol and are easy to build into large, non-rectilinear structures. The LEDscape hardware can drive very large numbers of them from the a single BeagleBone, making it simple to control.

Unfortunately, all years have had significant number of strip failures, both mechanical and electrical. The flexible PCB is difficult to solder to and prone to failure where the wires attach. The first LED on the strip frequently fails due to static or mis-wiring, causing all other LEDs on the strip to stop functioning.

LED panels

Jumbotron panels are cheaper than the WS2812 strips, but are harder to drive effectively. The Octoscroller control board can drive up to 64 panels (a 256x256 matrix) from a single BeagleBone Black at 30fps.

These are readily available from China in a range of sizes -- 6-15mm are common -- and are also available in waterproof varieties. The default connector is a 16-pin ribbon cable and not as robust as others, but it does daisy chain easily between adjacent panels.

Projection mapping

  • Small/Large venue?
  • Indoor/Outdoor?
  • Calibration software?
  • Air filtration?

DMX lighting

  • 512 outputs per channel
  • Traditional dimmer packs
  • New LEDs with built-in DMX
  • Need to write LEDscape firmware to talk DMX
  • Normally uses XLR connectors

Relays

  • Trigger or turn on other devices
  • Useful for AC loads, fog machines, button pushes, etc
  • Need to build a cape to handle lots of relays (or a DMX relay driver)

Mechanical

  • Servos
  • DC motors
  • Steppers motors
  • Which are sealed?
  • Servitron Six or DMX interface?

Diffusers

  • Soft - fabric choices
  • Hard - HDPE, acrylic
  • Edge lighted materials
  • Laser cut separators

Other

  • Lasers / pan-tilt stages?
  • Fire?
  • UAVs?
  • Tethered Blimps?
  • Fog/mist machines?

Recommendations

  • WS2812 strips are unreliable. Even in the best of conditions, they have frequent failures.
  • Outside LED panels are great if they work with the art.
  • Need to consult experts on projection mapping and other topics