Propeller LED display using Arduino

Abstract

As a part of an Electrical Engineering program, it is important to understand the practical application of all those things and concepts that have been taught theoretically, this project report is a summary of practical things learnt by us during the period of our project execution. This report documents the design, implementation and testing process for a “propeller LED display”: a system in which LEDs move rapidly to create the illusion of a much higher resolution display. A propeller LED display has many advantages over a traditional CRT, LCD or LED display, like power savings, less complexity, easy configuration, attractiveness etc. The report details the design and building process for the hardware and software of the system, and the integration of these subsystems into a finished product. The hardware incorporates a Propeller part and high-speed brushless motor; the electronics aspect involves designing and manufacturing a printed circuit board consisting of 17 LEDs (11 red, 5 green, 1 blue); software was then written to address and control these LEDs from an Arduino microcontroller. Several programs were written for computing/displaying different images on the LED display. Overall, the project was a success. Minor issues were identified in testing and subsequently fixed: these are discussed within the report. Potential improvements to the system (namely wireless connectivity and a more balanced, stable structure) are also discussed.