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Alex Glow
Published

Merlin Armor

Carbon-fiber armor with an LED underbelly. A new wearable base for some fantastical hacks.

AdvancedWork in progressOver 2 days2,579
Merlin Armor

Things used in this project

Story

Read more

Custom parts and enclosures

Utility belt: Battery holder

Holds a cylindrical 5V USB phone charger, with a slot for a thin belt. I wear one on each hip.

Utility belt: Triangle pocket

Holds a small controller (or your Almond Joy), with a slot for a thin belt. I wear these on either side of the center buckle.

Utility belt: Center

Has a slot for a thin belt, and also a secret storage spot where you can stash stuff from the back. Great for earplugs or other stuff you don't want to lose.

Code

Merlin Armor code

C/C++
Pulses bright, then dims down to 0.
#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>
#ifdef __AVR__
  #include <avr/power.h>
#endif

#define PIN 1 // digispark uses pin 1

Adafruit_NeoPixel strip = Adafruit_NeoPixel(9, PIN, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);


void setup() {
  strip.begin();
  strip.show(); 
}
void loop() {
 goUp();
 goDown();
}

void goUp() {

    for(int i=255; i>0; i++){
      int val = i - (i*10);
        colorWipe(strip.Color(0, val, val), 9);    
      }
  }


void goDown() {
    for(int i=0; i<255; i++){
      int val = i + (i*10);
        colorWipe(strip.Color(0, val, val), 9);     
      }
  }


// Fill the dots one after the other with a color
void colorWipe(uint32_t c, uint8_t wait) {
  for(uint16_t i=0; i<strip.numPixels(); i++) {
    strip.setPixelColor(i, c);
    strip.show();
    delay(wait);
  }
}

void rainbow(uint8_t wait) {
  uint16_t i, j;

  for(j=0; j<256; j++) {
    for(i=0; i<strip.numPixels(); i++) {
      strip.setPixelColor(i, Wheel((i+j) & 255));
    }
    strip.show();
    delay(wait);
  }
}

// Slightly different, this makes the rainbow equally distributed throughout
void rainbowCycle(uint8_t wait) {
  uint16_t i, j;

  for(j=0; j<256*5; j++) { // 5 cycles of all colors on wheel
    for(i=0; i< strip.numPixels(); i++) {
      strip.setPixelColor(i, Wheel(((i * 256 / strip.numPixels()) + j) & 255));
    }
    strip.show();
    delay(wait);
  }
}

//Theatre-style crawling lights.
void theaterChase(uint32_t c, uint8_t wait) {
  for (int j=0; j<10; j++) {  //do 10 cycles of chasing
    for (int q=0; q < 3; q++) {
      for (uint16_t i=0; i < strip.numPixels(); i=i+3) {
        strip.setPixelColor(i+q, c);    //turn every third pixel on
      }
      strip.show();

      delay(wait);

      for (uint16_t i=0; i < strip.numPixels(); i=i+3) {
        strip.setPixelColor(i+q, 0);        //turn every third pixel off
      }
    }
  }
}

//Theatre-style crawling lights with rainbow effect
void theaterChaseRainbow(uint8_t wait) {
  for (int j=0; j < 256; j++) {     // cycle all 256 colors in the wheel
    for (int q=0; q < 3; q++) {
      for (uint16_t i=0; i < strip.numPixels(); i=i+3) {
        strip.setPixelColor(i+q, Wheel( (i+j) % 255));    //turn every third pixel on
      }
      strip.show();

      delay(wait);

      for (uint16_t i=0; i < strip.numPixels(); i=i+3) {
        strip.setPixelColor(i+q, 0);        //turn every third pixel off
      }
    }
  }
}

// Input a value 0 to 255 to get a color value.
// The colours are a transition r - g - b - back to r.
uint32_t Wheel(byte WheelPos) {
  WheelPos = 255 - WheelPos;
  if(WheelPos < 85) {
    return strip.Color(255 - WheelPos * 3, 0, WheelPos * 3);
  }
  if(WheelPos < 170) {
    WheelPos -= 85;
    return strip.Color(0, WheelPos * 3, 255 - WheelPos * 3);
  }
  WheelPos -= 170;
  return strip.Color(WheelPos * 3, 255 - WheelPos * 3, 0);
}

Credits

Alex Glow

Alex Glow

149 projects • 1592 followers
The Hackster team's resident Hardware Nerd. I love robots, music, EEG, wearables, and languages. FIRST Robotics kid.

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