Dynamic lighting can add an exciting level of immersion when implemented correctly and the Raspberry Pi is often the perfect vessel for adding more control over LED-focused projects. Today we’re looking at a clever creation shared to Reddit from maker Matthew Gregory who is using a Raspberry Pi to change the color of an LED strip depending on which profile is logged in on his PlayStation 5.
The project required the development of a custom application to both determine who is logged in at a given time as well as what color to set the ws2812b strip to. The app was written by Gregory and is designed to run on a Raspberry Pi Zero W. When a user signs in to a profile on the PlayStation, the LED colors change on the strip. If multiple users log in, colors appear along the strip corresponding with the currently accessed profiles.
The LEDs are individually addressable NeoPixels and require a capacitor on the 5V line to ease stress on the first LED. A resistor is also required for the data pin to avoid any potential damage to the GPIO. Gregory opted to use a breadboard for the final implementation but it would be possible to solder the components together, as well.
