Reactive Pixel Lamps Create Colourful Vibes On Command

Phillips Ambilight technology is a curious thing, never quite catching on in the mainstream due to its proprietary nature. Consisting of an LED array that sits behind a television screen, it projects colours relevant to the content on screen to create a greater feeling of ambience. [Ed Chamberlain]’s reactive pixel lamps aim to do much the same thing in a more distributed way.

Each pixel lamp consists of a Wemos D1 controller fitted with an old-school 4-wire RGB LED. The components are placed in a 3D printed translucent cube, which serves as an attractive enclosure and diffuser. With WiFi connectivity on board, it’s possible to connect the individual cubes up to a Raspberry Pi serving as a Phillips Hue bridge thanks to DIYHue. Once setup, the lights can be configured as an Ambilight system within the Phillips Hue app.

It’s an impressive way to give a room reactive lighting on a budget, without resorting to costly off-the-shelf solutions. We’d love to see this expanded further, as we’re sure a room full of reactive lights would be truly a sight to behold. Other methods to recreate the Ambilight technology are possible, too. Video after the break.

3 thoughts on “Reactive Pixel Lamps Create Colourful Vibes On Command

  1. This can look cool if just play a music video but for normal use and video… Hm .. No .. this is too distracting and
    pretty irritating when trying to watch the screen.
    I think there is a very good reason why the phillips product never really catch on with people……
    I have when visit friends seen a few in action and to be honest …
    It doesn’t matter if it’s placed behind the screen or around in the room ..
    It is Still extremely irritating and distraction….
    Im pretty shure thats why it never really catch on with people.

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