Luciferin, DIY Dynamic Bias Light for Your Monitor. (similar to Ambilight)

by sblantipodi

8.4K8230

Intro: Luciferin, DIY Dynamic Bias Light for Your Monitor. (similar to Ambilight)

Luciferin is a generic term for the light-emitting compound found in organisms that generate bioluminescence like Fireflies and Glow Worms. Firefly Luciferin is a Java Fast Screen Capture PC software designed for Glow Worm Luciferin firmware, those two software creates the perfect Bias Lighting and Ambient Light system for PC.

STEP 1: Connect the LED Strip to Your Microcontroller

Capacitor, resistance and logic level converter helps "stabilizing the circuit", there are many people who don't use those extra components.

You need to buy a power supply capable of powering all the LEDs you want. For 60 LEDs a power supply of at least 5V/3A it's recommended, for 120 LEDs you need a 5V/6A power supply, do your math here. A bigger power supply generally works better and runs less hot than a smaller one. Don't undersize the power supply.

Note: LED strip must be connected to the D1 pin.

STEP 2: Put the LED's on the Back of the Monitor

Double sided tape is all you need for this step. It's easyer if you cut the strip in 5 parts,
top row, left column, right column, bottom left, bottom right.

NOTE: If you want to use the automatically generated configuration, your first LED should be positioned in the bottom half of your monitor like shown in the image.

STEP 3: Install Glow Worm Luciferin Firmware on Your Microcontroller

Configure WiFi and MQTT on Glow Worm Luciferin FULL firmware using the Web Installer


Luciferin Web Installer is available here.

Please click the Install FULL button

The install procedure will ask you the COM port where you want to install the firmware. Once the installation is finished you'll be able to enter the WiFi credentials.

If you entered the right credentials you can visit the device where you can finish the firmware configuration. If you entered wrong credentials, please reinstall the firmware and select "erase device" checkbox during the process to clean the stored credentials.

MQTT is optional but if you want to use MQTT, you must enable MQTT on the Web Interface settings. Click visit device. Once landed on the Web Interface, click the three lines button on the top right to access the firmware settings.

STEP 4: Download and Install Firefly Luciferin PC Software

Configure Firefly Luciferin for FULL firmware


You can download Firefly Luciferin here.

If you are using the FULL firmware, you need to enable WiFi on the Firefly Luciferin settings, enabling MQTT is optional.

If you want to use MQTT, both Firefly and Glow Worm must be configured to use MQTT. If you don't want to use MQTT, please disable MQTT on both Firefly and Glow Worm.

if you have more than one devices running Glow Worm firmware it is recommended to select which device to use in the Output device section under the Mode tab.


Luciferin Web Interface


Glow Worm Luciferin FULL firmware exposes a Web Interface to control your lights from your browser without the needs of the Firefly Luciferin PC client.

If you are on Windows or macOS you can access your device by pointing your browser to:

http://your_device_name.local

If you are using Android you need to enter the IP address of your microcontroller, example:

http://192.168.1.82

STEP 5: Home Assistant Integration

Thanks to the MQTT protocol Luciferin can be easily integrated into your preferred Home Automation system.

More info here.




17 Comments

saadland 2 years ago

What is exactly this function of the small PCB?? A stepdown from 5V to 3.3V to power Wemos Board or?? And why pass the data Yellow wire though that board also?? Other use simply a resistor between Data step and Pin Data on Wwmoa (Pin D1)??
I want to try the project but can not catch this small Red PCB.
Thx for the explanation ))

JonathanR224 3 years ago

Could this work with Neopixel led lights? And could a RassberryPi with Linux/Windows installed get it to work on a tv?

sblantipodi 3 years ago

Adafruit created the word neopixel just to convince people that they have invented something new. Neopixels are ws2812 LEDs, nothing more, nothing less. So yes, luciferin supports neopixel but if you can, save your money on adafruit's neopixel and buy a ws2812b led strip.
Luciferin works well on Linux but its not intended to run on a raspberry. You need a pc or a nuc.

JonathanR224 3 years ago

Gotcha, thank you for letting me know about neopixel. They got me for a while. I saw too many fancy lightsabers with "NeoPixel" and thought it was something special. Will try this out next month, I'll let you know how it goes. Any nu or pc or does it need to have Linux or Windows? like a Chromebook wouldnt work? Much appreciation, sblantipodi.

sblantipodi 3 years ago

I am adding MacOS supported but the support OS are Windows and Linux currently.

vaughank911 3 years ago

What's the cost on this project and can it be some how used for a tv

sblantipodi 3 years ago

if you buy the components from aliexpress 30USD should be more than enough.
you can use it on the TV if your TV received the signal from a Windows/Linux box.

saadland 3 years ago

So basically it is another software for AmbiLight, like AmbiBox?? Right??

sblantipodi 3 years ago

basically yes but it's faster and it has more features, it works wirelessly and it's a suite that bundles a PC software and a firmware. The firmware is designed for the PC software and the PC software is designed for the firmware.

gonzaloherrero93 3 years ago

Hello I have a question, what is the component of the attached photo?
also this project can be done with Nodemcu Wifi Esp8266?
Thank you!

sblantipodi 3 years ago

It's a logic level converter from 3.3V to 5V, something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/HiLetgo-Channels-Converter-Bi-Directional-3-3V-5V/dp/B07F7W91LC/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=logic+level+converter&qid=1599248959&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExMVUwWVBQODVTT1BEJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTY1MjI4MkUwUU81UzVERTNRTiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTk5OTIxMjhWS09TUFlEWVU4WSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Yes, NodeMCU is as good as D1 Mini, they runs the same chip ESP8266.

JZaring66 3 years ago

I'm missing something. How does the system know what color or where the color is on the screen?

sblantipodi 3 years ago

Hi, thanks for the interest. Luciferin is a software suite made from two components. Firefly Luciferin that is a fast screen capture software for PC, and GlowWorm Luciferin that is a firmware that runs on a microcontroller.
PC software captures the image on the screen, elaborates it and sends "compressed" screen information to the microcontroller that get this information and sends it to the LED strip. Hope it helped.

tiburon4 3 years ago

Where can I find that screen saver! Cool project entirely