Data Painting

Jake's been working visual magic with AdaFruit's NeoPixel Stick and the MPU-9150 from SparkFun (a 9-axis motion-sensing chip). He's mapping the vertical (z-axis) acceleration to hues in the pixels: red for +2 G's along the Z-axis, and blue for -2 -- as you can see at the bottom and top of each arc.

This project uses the FastLED Bootstrap module to interface with the NeoPixels. Modules are a new feature, under development, that enable you to easily load/create Arduino libraries into your Scout's Bootstrap. This makes it easy to use existing Arduino libraries (like FastLED and Sparkfun's MPU-9150 firmware) while making sure the Scout stays a Scout.

If you're itching to try something like this, though, there are already a few open-source methods of connecting NeoPixels (and other hardware) to your Pinoccio Scouts.

Jake's moving so fast that the exposure barely captures him! Here's a closer look at how this system turns motion into color - note how the color changes when he rotates the board - this is because the board is experiencing the Earth's 1g pull when upright, and -1g push when upside down: