Moises de Paulo Dias' Arduino-Compatible Flower Is an Interactive Piece of Perfboard Art

Computer engineer and maker Moises de Paulo Dias has built an Arduino-compatible flower — shaping perfboard into the petals and adding LEDs under programmatic control.

"This project is a creative implementation of an Arduino-based circuit, designed in the shape of a flower and featuring LEDs with customizable blinking patterns — random, spinning, or synced with ambient sound," de Paulo Dias explains. "It's not just an electronic device but also a decorative gift."

The heart of the flower is the LilyPad Arduino, a circular board originally designed by Leah Buechley and SparkFun Electronics for wearable use — the shape of which, however, lends itself perfectly to the project at hand. This core microcontroller board is then mounted on perfboard, cut into the shape of a five-petaled flower. Three RGB LEDs, and their current-limiting resistors, are added to each petal to complete the visual effect.

Direct control of the flower's LEDs is possible through a push-button and potentiometer at the base of the build, which lets the user select an animation pattern and control the speed. There's a bonus feature hidden in the flower's leaf, though: a KY-037 sound sensor, which allows the LEDs to react to ambient audio.

"A rigid green wire supports the flower-like circuit board," de Paulo Dias adds of the build's finishing touches, "which is fixed in a flower pot. The top surface of the pot is covered with a green fabric and plastic grass to simulate soil and grass."

The source code for the project has been uploaded to GitHub under an unspecified license, along with a simple wiring diagram for those looking to build their own — though the LilyPad Arduino, it must be noted, is a discontinued product.