NEW PRODUCT – The LoL Shield, A charlieplexed LED matrix for the Arduino

The LoL Shield is a charlieplexed LED matrix for the Arduino. The LEDs are individually addressable, so you can use it to display anything in a 9×14 grid. Scroll text, play games, display images, or anything else you want to do.

Since this is a shield, you will need an Arduino for this project. The LoL Shield is just a board with LEDs and headers on it, so you need something to control them. Once you have the Arduino, it’s as simple as downloading the LoL Shield Library and programming something fun. The library takes care of all the complicated mess of driving a charliplexed display, so you just need to set x and y coordinates to on or off. If you would like to set animations manually, you can use a spreadsheet template to create animations for it, or you can download the ODS file here.

If you would like to find out more about how the kit works, you can check out the development process part one, and part two. You can learn to make the kit here, and learn how to program it here.

In stock and shipping NOW from the Adafruit store!

Filed under: arduino — by adafruit, posted August 9, 2010 at 10:40 pm

Comments (4)

4 Comments

At a rough estimate of 20mA per LED at its operating voltage (~2.5V), a fully-illuminated 126 LED LOL Shield would draw 2.5 Amps (@2.5V). That’s 6.3 Watts — which is 1.25 Amps at 5V. I think the Arduino 7805 is good for 1.0 Amps. At least it’s in the same ballpark as the regulator output.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that this might get a bit warm if fully-illuminated. Still, this is a great idea! I’ve wanted a little sign in the back window of my car (where legal) that shows emoticons or text.
-John

Comment by John_NY — August 10, 2010 @ 3:35 pm

Now that would be awsome if it could be built using tri-color RGB LED’s. Of course you’d need more pins, how about a version as an Arduino Mega sheild.

Comment by K Scharf — August 10, 2010 @ 4:46 pm