Bright-Pi
The Bright-Pi is a small little board based around the Semtech SC620 that powers 4 white LEDs and 8 infrared ones.
Please check our quick start and FAQ for more information.
Setup Bright-Pi
Auto Installation
Just run the following script in a terminal window and Bright-Pi will be automatically setup.
# Run this line and Bright Pi will be setup and installed
curl -sSL https://pisupp.ly/brightpicode | bashPython API
The library provides two classes. BrightPi provides driver functionalities for the SC620 whereas BrightPiSpecialEffects allows for an easier and more intuitive interface and usage.
The Basic API
# Global variables to quickly reference to groups of LEDs or individual ones.
# The LED* ones can only be used on their own.
LED_ALL = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
LED_IR = LED_ALL[4:8]
LED_WHITE = LED_ALL[0:4]
LED1 = (1,)
LED2 = (2,)
LED3 = (3,)
LED4 = (4,)
LED5 = (5,)
LED6 = (6,)
LED7 = (7,)
LED8 = (8,)
ON = 1
OFF = 0
# reset method is used to reset the SC620 to its original state.
reset()
# get_gain and set_gain retrieve and set the gain for all LEDs.
get_gain()
# Gain from min 0 (0b0000) to max 15 (0b1111).
set_gain(gain)
# get_led_on_off and set_led_on_off retrieve and set the on/off status of the LEDs.
# White LEDs:
# 1, 2, 3, 4
# IR LEDs (in pairs)
# 5, 6, 7, 8
# leds is a tuple or array of LEDs for which you require a status.
get_led_on_off(leds)
# leds is a tuple or array of LEDs for which you are setting the status as state.
set_led_on_off(leds, state)
# get_dim and set_dim retrieve and set the dim for the specified LEDs.
get_led_dim()
# Dim from 0 (0x00) to 50 (0x32).
# leds is a tuple or array of LEDs for which you are setting the dimming level as dim.
set_led_dim(leds, dim)The Special Effects
# Global variables to indicate clockwise and counterclockwise LEDs rotations sequences.
ROT_CW = 0
ROT_CCW = 1
# This method flashes all LEDs at an interval for a number of times.
# repetitions indicates how many flashes will be done and interval represents the time between on and off.
flash(repetitions, interval)
# This method flashes white LEDs top to bottom, left to right or from opposed sides.
# repetitions indicates how many flashes will be done and interval represents the time between on and off. Orientation defaults to 'v'.
# Allowed values are: 'v', 'h' and 'x'.
alt_flash(repetitions, interval, orientation)
# This method flashes one white LED after another as to give the impression of a rotating sequence.
# Using the global variables ROT_CW for clockwise and ROT_CCW for counterclockwise.
# repetitions indicates how many complete sequences will be done, delay represents the time between LEDs subsequently turning on and rotation set the direction.
night_rider(repetitions, delay, rotation)
# This method changes the gain on all LEDs from min (0b0000) to max (0b1111)
# repetitions indicates how many cycles will be done and speed represents how quickly each cycle will be completed by specifying a time between each change of gain.
beacon(repetitions, speed)
# This method changes the dimming on white LEDs from min (0x00) to max (0x32)
# repetitions indicates how many cycles will be done and speed represents how quickly each cycle will be completed by specifying a time between each change of dimming level.
dimmer(repetitions, speed)Examples
BrightPi
from brightpi import *
brightPi = BrightPi()
# This method is used to reset the SC620 to its original state.
brightPi.reset()
# LEDs can be prepared as tuples by explicitly specifying each,
leds = (1, 2, 3, 4)
# or as an array,
leds = [1, 2]
# or by using global variables,
leds = LED_IR
brightPi.set_led_on_off(leds, OFF)
# global variables can be used in line,
brightPi.set_led_on_off(LED_WHITE, ON)
# and single LEDs can be used too.
brightPi.set_led_on_off(LED2, ON)
# When passing LEDs on their own without using the global variables each has to be represented as a tuple with only one element.
led1 = (1, )
brightPi.set_led_on_off(led1, ON)
# This could help for example in a loop.
for led in range(0, 8):
brightPi.set_led_on_off((led + 1,), ON)BrightPiSpecialEffects
from brightpi import *
brightSpecial = BrightPiSpecialEffects()
# As BrightPiSpecialEffects inherits from BrighPi, managing the LEDs is done in the same way.
brightSpecial.set_led_on_off((1,), 0)
brightSpecial.set_led_on_off(LED4, 1)
brightSpecial.set_led_on_off((1,2,3,4), 1)
brightSpecial.set_led_on_off((1,2,3,4), 0)
# When using BrightPiSpecialEffects specific methods you will have to provide different parameters depending on the method chosen.
brightSpecial.beacon(2, 0.1)
# This method flashes one white LED after another as to give the impression of a clockwise rotating sequence.
brightSpecial.night_rider(10, 0.1)
# This method flashes one white LED after another as to give the impression of a counterclockwise rotating sequence.
brightSpecial.night_rider(10, 0.1, ROT_CCW)
brightSpecial.dimmer(2, 0.2)
brightSpecial.flash(5, 1)
# This method flashes white LEDs top to bottom.
brightSpecial.alt_flash(5, 0.2)
# This method flashes white LEDs left to right.
brightSpecial.alt_flash(5, 0.2, 'h')
# This method flashes white LEDs from opposed sides.
brightSpecial.alt_flash(5, 0.2, 'x')Command Line
# Run a demo using the various controls and effects
brightpi-test.pyHardware tips
LED PN Bright Pi uses LEDs which are available off the shelf via a number of vendors. The part numbers are:
- bright white LEDs (high quality Cree C513A-WSN-CV0Y0151 LEDs)
- bright IR LEDs (high quality LITEON HSDL-4261 LEDs)
Pinout The Bright Pi header is connected to the Raspberry Pi via the GPIO header on pins:
GPIO Bright Pi
2 - 5V --> 2
3 - I2C_SDA --> 4
4 - GND --> 1
5 - I2C_SCL --> 3NOTE: The maximum current draw with all LEDs ON is 120mA.
Third party software libraries
It is safe to say we have an awesome and growing community of people using Bright Pi to light up their projects and we get a huge amount of contributions of code, some of which we can easily integrate here and others which we can't (we are only a small team). However we want to make sure that any contributions are easy to find, for anyone looking. So here is a list of other software libraries that might be useful to you (if you have one of your own, please visit the "Issues" tab above and let us know!):