Open Source PI

I came up with this idea because I thought one sure way to "Geek Out" anything is to include an Arduino and some LEDs some how. My next thought was that LEDs are going to be a bit too crunchy so they wouldn't really be that much fun to eat. Also I think the Arduino would most likely be a choking hazard.

So I decided to make a clear gelatine Open Source PI pie. That way I could light it from the bottom. I started off using the plastic insert that comes with a gram cracker crumb pie crust. Ya the thingy that holds all them crumbs in place. They are brittle so I carefully washed it.

I mixed one packet of Knox unflavored clear gelatine with a cup of hot water. Added 2 tbsp of sugar and 2 tbsp of honey. I stirred it well as I slowly added the ingredients. Once they were completely dissolved I added a cup of ice to cool it down. I scooped off the bubbles that formed at the top when the ice had completely melted. It filled up the pie tray a little more than haft way.

I waited 4 hours for it to set. Seeing how PI is used so freely around the world I designed an " Open Source PI " logo, carved it into the hardened gelatin and filled it with some sweeten Blue Berry flavored Jello. I mixed it up the same way as the gelatin except I did not add sugar and honey. Again I let it set for 4 hours.

I made a second batch of the clear gelatine in the same way as the first batch and filled the remaining space in the pie tray. Once this has set up completely I will place an inverted plastic pie tray over a 12 volt supplied Arduino, 1 small bread board and 1 coiled 5 meter RGB LED strip. I will then place a white piece of cloth over it. This will be the lighted base that the completed Open Source PI will sit on.

While letting the pie set for 4 hours again, I began to make the light source. I used the tutorial and resources I found on http://www.ladyada.net/products/rgbledstrip/  to set it up. Those folks at http://www.adafruit.com/ have a lot of great resources. Basically I added a STP16NF06 N-channel mosfet to each color channel of an RGB LED strip, modified the Arduino sketch a little, uploaded it and then it was all set to go.

I figured I would geek out the code just a little bit by changing the FADESPEED from 5 to PI. That way the LEDs will be injecting PI into every molecule of the Open Source PI pie in a fairly geeky way. It ended up looking very radioactive. Check out the video, The color interaction is cool. Enjoy.  :)

2 packets of Knox unflavored clear gelatine (1 box has 4 packets)
I box of Blue Berry Jello
4 tbsp of sugar
4 tbsp of honey
3 cups of hot water
3 cups of ice

1 5 meter RGB LED strip
1 Arduino uno
1 arduino sketch from http://www.ladyada.net/products/rgbledstrip/  (it's near the bottom)
1 12 volt power supply
1 small bread board
11 jumper wires
5 STP16NF06 N-channel mosfets
2 clear plastic pie trays
1 2' x 2' piece of white cloth