Networked LED panel for a logistics terminal
Prototype of a message panel with 727 addressable LEDs for a truck yard: an Arduino with Ethernet queries an HTTP API with a token every few seconds and draws the message on a WS2812B matrix with a custom font, with the terminal number set by buttons and stored in EEPROM.
The challenge
Show, at each point of a truck terminal, the instruction coming from the central system, on a panel readable from a distance and cheap enough to replicate, without a computer or screen at every point.
The objective
Validate on the bench an autonomous networked panel: read the message from an API, render legible text on an LED matrix and allow the terminal to be configured without reprogramming the board.
The solution
Arduino Uno with an Ethernet module (ENC28J60) making HTTP requests with an integration token; a 727-LED WS2812B matrix driven with FastLED and a font drawn pixel by pixel, with colours by position; a 16x2 I2C LCD and two buttons to choose the terminal number, persisted in EEPROM; a three-second polling cycle with scrolling text. Prototype validated on the bench in 2023.
The impact
- 727-LED addressable matrix with a custom font and legible scrolling text
- Local configuration by buttons and LCD, without reprogramming the board
- HTTP integration with a token, ready to connect to the central system
- About 1,200 lines of own code on top of seven open libraries
Jean C Becker
Senior Solutions Architect | AI & Machine Learning Specialist
Designed and built this work. About JBKR →