This Fiber Optic Star Ceiling Is Absolutely Stellar!
Lay down in your bed and gaze up at the twinkly starscape overhead.
Ceilings are a necessary part of life, but most of the time they simply sit unnoticed, literally hanging over our heads. Creator “Centas,” however, transformed his into an amazing fiber optic star display, which now shines with roughly 1,200 points of light along with sound-reactive perimeter LED strips.
The build included hanging a new ceiling, as Centas didn’t have attic access, and making a flowing perimeter for the side lighting pattern. Simulated starlight twinkles through via fiber optic cables, which had to be pulled into place with a fishing pole and loop setup. These are poked through the ceiling and glued, then painted over so things look entirely normal when it's off.
The display is powered by an Arduino Mega, which illuminates the fiber optic lines for the stars using a number of LEDs. Control is via PCA9685 drivers, which are normally used for servos but can also regulate LED brightness levels. Music reactivity is handled by an MSQ7EQ chip, while a pair of nRF24L01 RF modules provide the user interface.
It’s an amazing result, as seen below. The star pattern even includes northern hemisphere constellation patterns, pointed out with red lines in the video edit. According to Centas, such a project could be done for a couple hundred dollars, or perhaps up to a thousand depending on your requirements.
Engineer, maker of random contraptions, love learning about tech. Write for various publications, including Hackster!