NeoPixels are magical things. It couldn’t be simpler…a single data wire from the microcontroller, linking pixel to pixel for as long as you need. When NeoPixel projects get really large though…hundreds of pixels or more…this simplicity starts to become a bottleneck…
NeoPXL8 (pronounced “NeoPixelate”) is a hardware-and-software combo for our Feather M0 and related boards, bringing buttery smooth animation to large-scale NeoPixel projects.
NeoPXL8 splits the problem 8 ways…rather than one long strand, 8 shorter strands are refreshed concurrently, greatly reducing transmission times. Additionally, NeoPXL8 uses direct memory access (DMA) to allow the CPU to continue with other tasks while these data transfers take place in the background. Your code could start processing the next frame of animation, or load data from an SD card. All interrupts and timekeeping functions operate normally, no drift.
It’s not a new idea, but achieving this on the economy-minded SAMD21 microcontroller required hijinks and shenanigans, and we’re excited to share the results.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: MicroPython Pico W Bluetooth, CircuitPython 8.0.4 and much more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
