Interactive Pixel Art
Written by David Conrad   
Sunday, 03 February 2013

Pixel art is very retro, but a Kickstarter project promises to bring it up-to-date with a Bluetooth connected LED display.

The idea is very simple: take either a 32x32 or 15x32 RGB LED array and wrap it in a nice frame so that it can be hung on a wall. The result is Pixel which has already exceeded its $8000 target on Kickstarter.
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pixelart

 

The resolution may be low, but what you can achieve with it looks really good - perhaps because the resolution is so low. A proximity sensor in the frame lets you code up interactive displays and, as the code is open source, you can even modify it for your special projects. It isn't a crazy price either, at $196 for a 32x32 device. However, it is suggested that you set aside $800 or so to buy pixel art from the featured artists - which even for a work of great digital art seems a little high.

The best way to see what it is all about is to watch the video:

 

At the moment the software is only available for Android but the team is a bit apologetic about not supporting iOS just yet.

 

pixelmirror

 

The idea of putting the display behind a two-way mirror and flashing messages and images seems particularly appealing. The hardware is based on an IOIO Mint board and a Bluetooth Dongle and there seems to be plenty of scope for expansion:

 

pixelhardware

 

 

 
 
pixelart
 

 

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Last Updated ( Sunday, 03 February 2013 )