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As part of my bunk bed set I built for my kids, I decided to also do a light on the wall above each head board, but I couldn't do just any old light, it had to be a wifi enabled micro controller powered RGB LED strip light! My wife would describe might describe this as "unnecessary" or a "waste of money", but as you, the astute reader can see, I really had no choice, and honestly a light as bright as a collapsed sun always inspires good sleep for your children.

I'd had my eye on Adafruit NeoPixel strips for a project for some time, and just recently a new Arduino microcontroller variant came out that was wi-fi enabled, the Arduino Yun. Someday I'll probably get around to posting a How to on instructables.com, but for this audience, I'll leave out the majority of the nerdy things I had to accomplish to have a light that will let me do any color on any LED-but it does provide a nice medium for various operating modes. I have a "night light" automatically timed mode that syncs time with a web time provider, reading light mode, and a visible alarm that slowly brightens when it's time to wake up.

The primary medium for this project was a piece of 8/4 walnut I had laying around the shop, I cut a number of grooves in the walnut to allow a space for the LED strip and wiring, then capped it with Aluminum to give it a modern look.

Hope you like it!

Here's some info about the bunkbed:

Gallery

Comments

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So, how do your kids like it???
 

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This is great. I'm only an Objective C programmer but wanting to get into something like the Arduino or Pi. I also have dozens of incredibly bright LED lights (Cree XML-U2 mostly).
 

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mmh - The kids love it! Though there are constant requests to change the color…

iSentient - If you have any programming background the Arduino C-variant language is really easy to pick up, and definitely has a much smaller barrier to entry than the Raspberry Pi (I've used both). The arduino definitely opens up a huge new playground to do new projects.
 

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Arduino programability adds all kinds of options such automatic lights out. Add a noise sensor and flashing red lights for study time. Motion detector… The options are endless. You just need to add a few more features to cut down on the "unnecessary" complaints.

One question: How hot do these LED's get when at full power?
 

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I was a bit concerned about the heat as well, the after a full heat soak of ~ 1 hr, they were warm to the touch, but definitely not uncomfortable to touch or anything where I would be concerned of a "thermal event" that the electronics industry worries about. I'm using Adafruit's 5V 10 Amp power supply, which seems to work at full load without issue-though it does get warm as well.

I already have the automatic lights out during the night hours (configurable, but set to 10 minutes) where it'll dim down to 5% brightness for the nightlight. Seems to work pretty well.
 

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and a visible alarm that slowly brightens when it's time to wake up.
That's pretty slick, I'd like one for reading in bed. That being said, what ever happened to busting in your kids room, flipping the light on and saying "If you're not up in 5 minutes you're going to be sorry."
 

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Already got the visible alarm covered -it starts lighten from the outside edges 10 minutes before wake-up time, when it reaches the center, it's time to get up!

But best of all, I can change it on the weekends over wifi to be later… and they'll never know :).
 

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Pretty cool, but how come only the top bunk gets the stars and planets? Bottom bunk guy gets left out :)
 

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Nice setup! You may want to look into the need for less blue light as the day progresses towards sleep, and phase the light away from blue. Also, don't use a blue night light, use a red one, for more restful sleep.
 

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Someone else mentioned the red light at night thing at work today too-a few taps on my smartphone and done!
 

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That is what my 80's pals would call "totally rad!!"

Keep up the good work

Tom
 

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Nice project, bringing electronics and woodworking together!
 

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great project and hilarious write up, got a big chuckle from your description, thanks!
 
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