This Seven-Segment Display Stands Seven Feet Tall

Seven-segment displays are nothing new in the hobbyist and industrial world, and you’ve probably even seen them made with addressable LEDs as the light source. This one, however, stands at nearly seven feet tall, and is made using manual tools and off-the-shelf — or maybe even out of the recycling bin — components. It’s so large, in fact, that when laid flat, its creator Jegatheesan Soundarapandian can sit cross-legged inside one of the eight’s squares.

The display is constructed with cardboard material, cut and bent into seven rectangles with triangular top and bottom segments for attachment. A PVC internal structure is also added to allow it to stay upright. White strips of paper form diffusers, concealing addressable LEDs underneath. LEDs used in the build come from a single strip, cut into pieces and lengthened with solder and roughly 186 lengths of wire. This took around 10 hours to complete, and though difficult, Soundarapandian positively notes that the project increased his patience level and confidence.

This massive digit is controlled with an Arduino Uno, while user interface provided by an HC-05 Bluetooth module and Android app. Eventually, Soundarapandian hopes to make a colossal clock with this style of display, but he’ll need to find a bit more cardboard, and perhaps gain even more patience for the process.