BlinkM - I2C Controlled RGB LED

BlinkM - I2C Controlled RGB LED

BlinkM is a “Smart LED”, a networkable and programmable full-colour RGB LED for hobbyists, industrial designers, prototypers, and experimenters. It is designed to allow the easy addition of dynamic indicators, displays, and lighting to existing or new projects.
If you’ve used up all your microcontroller PWM channels controlling RGB LEDs and still want more, BlinkM is for you. BlinkM uses a high quality, high power RGB LED and a small AVR microcontroller to allow a user to digitally control an RGB LED over a simple I2C interface.
Multiple BlinkMs can be stranded together on an I2C bus allowing for some amazing light displays.
BlinkMs are also programmable! With ThingMs sequencer software, you can create a mix of colours with different time slices, upload that sequence to the Blink, and then let it rip.

Features:

• 8000mcd 140º full-colour RGB LED with 24-bit colour control
• Specify colours by 24-bit RGB or HSB
• Fade between colors with variable timing and fade speeds
• Randomized color selection, with ranges and based on previous colour
• 18 built-in light scripts (sequences)
• Create and save light scripts of up to 49 commands long
• Stand-alone operation: No microcontroller needed for light script playback
• Can plug directly into Arduino, no wiring or other components needed!
• Two-wire (aka “I2C”) interface
• Up to 127 BlinkMs on a single two-wire network
• Responds to “general call” broadcast for simultaneous commanding
• Reconfigurable network address
• Firmware upgradable
• 5-volt standard TTL inputs
• Low power consumption

BlinkM Board and Pin Layout:

BlinkM is a 0.6” bare circuit board with a 4-pin 0.1” header connector used to power and program it. On the top side (as shown below) is a full-color RGB LED. On the under side is a tiny computer running at 8MHz!

Using BlinkM in Stand-alone Operation:

Connecting BlinkM to Arduino:

Below within the documents section, you'll find a download of many example programs to run on your BlinkM.

Documents:

• BlinkM Examples (Arduino Control Code)
• BlinkM Datasheet