DIY Wirelessly Controlled Lights
Check out this nice project from a SparkFun customer.
Today we have a cool project coming from SparkFun customer Robert Diamond. Robert saw a problem (it gets dark at night) and found a solution (lights!). But rather than just stop there, Robert wanted to bring his home light system into the 21st century, using LEDs, Arduino, and the XBee communication protocol to create a unique web-connected DIY lighting system. Check it out:
I know the video doesn't seem to show much at first glance, but what you see there is Robert wirelessly controlling the lights in his hallway. Each light has a power supply, XBee, Arduino, XBee Shield, some MOSFETs, the light strip itself, and a handful of other parts. Robert used a ConnectPort to interface his entire system to the web, giving him easy control over which lights go on when.
This is a great project that explores the power of XBee and wireless communication, and is a perfect example of solving a common problem in a useful, clever way. Check out Robert's Instructable, which includes all the code, parts list, and instructions on how to build you own system. Great work, Robert!
