Chapter 4. LED Glasses

In this chapter, we will look at how to create a pair of LED glasses. In essence, these glasses are an LED matrix. A matrix is an arrangement of LEDs in columns and rows, where we take advantage of the polarity of the LEDs so we can control 30 LEDs separately using only 15 pins on the Arduino board. The LED matrix has been around for many years and is still used today in some screen technologies. For example, digital bus signs are usually made by implementing an LED matrix, where each individual LED acts like a pixel.

In this chapter you will also learn a little bit about how to create your own glasses and soldering techniques. We will also have a look at some more advanced programming, where we will be implementing some simple animation for you to build upon.

The materials needed are:

• 30 LEDs (5 mm) in any color

• A trinket board or an Arduino micro board

• An FTDI to USB converter

• Wires

• A soldering iron

• A 3-5V lithium battery (the smaller the better)

• A JST female connector

• 3 mm...