LumiCube

This repository contains some example code and documentation for the LumiCube:

• https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1202256831/lumicube-an-led-cube-kit-for-the-raspberry-pi
• https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/lumicube-an-led-cube-kit-for-the-raspberry-pi

More detailed information can be found in our project booklet:

• https://abstractfoundry.com/lumicube/manual.pdf

For getting started head to our resources page:

• https://abstractfoundry.com/lumicube/resources

(Note: the only supported operating system at the moment is the full 32bit Raspberry Pi OS.)

The source code for the software running on the Raspberry Pi, including our web-based IDE, is available in a separate project:

• https://github.com/abstractfoundry/lumicube-daemon

Community Contributions

Documentation:

• https://github.com/abstractfoundry/lumicube/tree/main/community-documentation

Scripts:

• https://github.com/abstractfoundry/lumicube/tree/main/community-scripts

Simulator

It is also possible to run some of these examples projects using our online simulator:

• https://abstractfoundry.com/lumicube/simulator

Example projects

The “examples” folder contains a number of example projects, some of which we used in our Kickstarter and Indiegogo video:

Level 1 (easiest)

button.py

Use the button to switch the cube’s colour between red and blue.

chiptune.py

Play a randomly generated tune.

pi_status_screen.py

Display some Raspberry Pi stats on the screen: CPU temperature, disk usage, etc.

rainbow.py

Continually change the cube's colour.

scrolling_clock.py

Every 10 seconds scroll the time across the LEDs.

voice_recognition.py

Basic voice recognition and text-to-speech.

Level 2 (after you’ve learnt the basics)

autumn_scene.py

Autumn animation (leaves falling from a pixel-art tree).

binary_clock.py

A simple binary clock (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_clock).

conways_game_of_life.py

Run Conway’s Game of Life on the LEDs (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway's_Game_of_Life).

equaliser.py

Colourful equaliser using the microphone.

land_grab.py

Several computer players randomly walk the LED grid, colouring squares until they get stuck.

lava_lamp.py

Use OpenSimplex noise to generate a lava lamp like effect (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplex_noise).

rain.py

Rain animation.

ripples.py

Random circular ripple animation.

tapping_ripples.py

Ripple animation which responds to tapping or moving the cube.

water_level.py

Virtual water-level effect which responds to the cube's orientation.

windmill.py

Blow at the back of the cube to make the windmill animation turn.

Documentation

Python API

See the LumiCube manual for a detailed explanation of the modules, methods and fields:

• https://abstractfoundry.com/lumicube/manual.pdf

A brief summary of the API is also given here:

• https://github.com/abstractfoundry/lumicube/blob/main/documentation/api.txt

REST API

The API is broken down into:

• modules (e.g. speaker, microphone, screen)
• methods (e.g. play_tone(), draw_rectangle())
• fields (e.g. volume, brightness)

All of the modules, methods, and fields in the Python API (see the product manual, linked above) also exist in the REST API.

Getting or setting a field

[GET/POST] http://<IP_ADDRESS>/api/v1/modules/<MODULE_NAME>/fields/<FIELD_NAME> { "value": <VALUE> }

For example, to set the brightness of the display to 50%:

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"value": 50}' http://<IP_ADDRESS>/api/v1/modules/display/fields/brightness

Calling a method

[POST] http://<IP_ADDRESS>/api/v1/modules/<MODULE_NAME>/methods/<METHOD_NAME> { "arguments": <ARGUMENTS_LIST> }

For example, to set one LED at x=1, y=0 to colour=255 (blue, #0000ff in hex):

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"arguments": [1, 0, 255]}' http://<IP_ADDRESS>/api/v1/modules/display/methods/set_led

Executing a Python script

[POST] http://<IP_ADDRESS>/api/v1/scripts/main/methods/start { "body": "<YOUR_CODE>" }

For example, to set all the LEDs to red using a Python script:

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"body": "display.set_all(red)"}' http://<IP_ADDRESS>/api/v1/scripts/main/methods/start

Exceptional cases

set_leds(), set_3d()

In Python these methods take a dictionary mapping coordinates to colours, where the coordinates are a tuple of (x, y) or (x, y, z) values. JSON doesn't support tuples, so instead coordinates are represented as a comma-separated string.

For example, to set the LED at (0,0) to 0x000080 and the LED at (1,1) to 0x0000FF:

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"arguments": [{"0,0": 128, "1,1": 255}]}' http://<IP_ADDRESS>/api/v1/modules/display/methods/set_leds